This
non-food related Household bottles page is one of two typology pages (in
addition to the
Miscellaneous & Foreign bottles page) which comprise the "catch-all"
sections for bottle
types not otherwise covered by the other major bottle type
categories. Specifically, this page addresses non-food products clearly used in households across the United States
and Canada. These products were also used, of course, by businesses,
schools, government offices, and other non-household entities.

The
"household" (aka "personal") bottles category has been used by
archaeologists - and collectors to some degree - for many years although the
actual bottle types contained within the category varies significantly (Herskovitz
1978; Berge
1980; Univ. of Utah [IMACS] 1982; Felton et al. 1984; Jones & Sullivan 1989).
For example, canning/fruit jars which are included by some authors in the "household"
bottles category - or as an entirely separate category - are covered here on the
Food Bottles & Canning Jars page (Herskovitz 1978; Berge 1980). Another
example is that chemical and poison type bottles - which could have been covered
on this page or the "Miscellaneous bottles" page - are discussed on the
Medicinal/Chemical/Druggist bottles
typology page which is consistent with what some other authors have also done (Herskovitz
1978; Univ. of Utah [IMACS] 1982).

In the end, there has never been total
agreement on the categorization hierarchy of bottle types and probably never
will be. The point behind these typology pages is not to establish
a hierarchal classification system for bottle types but instead to help users
identify what the most likely function or use was made of the specific bottle
shape/type they are interested in determining such for. See the
following "Organization & Structure" section for the specific bottle
types that this website includes in the "household" category.

The other typology pages (e.g., "Liquor/Spirits bottles", "Food
Bottles & Canning Jars", etc.) have larger introductory sections than
this page or the "Miscellaneous & Foreign bottles" page. This is
because the "household" and "miscellaneous" categories are much wider
ranging in diversity and
lacking the tighter or narrower "theme" of the other major categories.
Instead, this page will have specific bottle type introductions incorporated
into the opening paragraphs within each given section listed.
Given this structural difference, the introduction for this page is considered
complete; please scroll down to the "Organization & Structure" section below to
begin.

NOTE: Attached to the "Bottle
Types/Diagnostic Shapes" grouping of pages is a complete copy of a never re-printed, 280
page, 1906 Illinois Glass Company bottle catalog scanned at two pages per
JPEG file. Click 1906 IGCo. Catalog to access the page that links to all the scans of this
very useful catalog. Various household bottles are listed throughout this
catalog including pages 36-43, 46-69, 74-77, 104-107, 278-287.

This
Household Bottles (non-food related) page is divided into the following categories and sub-categories based
largely on the different contents that each group held, and within those
groups, by various dominant shapes or other logical categories. Additional categories and/or
sub-categories will almost certainly be added as future updates to this
page.

Each of the pictured bottles has a
relatively short description and explanation including estimated dates
or date ranges for that type bottle and links to
other view pictures of the bottle. Additional links to images of
similar bottles are also frequently included.

The array of references used to support the
conclusions and estimates found here - including the listed dating ranges - are
noted. Additional information and estimates are
based on the empirical observations of the author over
40+ years of experience; this is often but not always noted.

Various terminology is used in the descriptions that may be unfamiliar if
you have not studied other pages on this site. If a term is
unfamiliar, first check the
Bottle Glossary page for an explanation or definition. As an
alternative, one can do a search of this website. To do a word/phrase search
one must use the "Search SHA" boxes found on many of the main SHA
web pages,
including the
Research Resources page (upper right side of that page) which links to
this site. The Historic Bottle Website (HBW) has no internal search
mechanism so be aware that when running a search one will also get non-HBW
response links to other portions of the SHA site.

Ink Bottles
& Inkwells

Glass containers intended for ink were
produced in an amazing assortment of types/shapes, sizes, and colors. Ink
bottles are typically divided into three major categories: ink bottles
(small), bulk or "master" ink bottles (larger bulk containers), and inkwells (Munsey
1970). Within these sub-categories, this website breaks the small
utilitarian ink
bottles into several major body cross-section related groups - "cylindrical,"
"square/rectangular," "multi-sided (more than than 4 sides;
see image to the left of 1865 ink bottles)," and a catchall
category of "other shapes." (Photo to the left by George Salmon
Photography, courtesy of Odyssey Marine Exploration.) Larger bulk
or master ink bottles are are
more simply divided into two categories - "cylindrical" (the large majority)
and "other shapes" (Nelson & Hurley 1967; Covill 1971). Inkwells are
briefly covered as a group since this sub-category is more of a
specialty bottle group, where the various manufacturing based dating
rules summarized on the
Bottle Dating pages have more limited application. The
categories used on this website greatly simplify those described by Covill (1971) whose book "Ink bottles and
inkwells" has been the standard work on the subject for many years.
It should be noted, however, that a recent and also well illustrated book:
Inks: 150 Years of Bottles and Companies by Ed and Lucy Faulkner's
(Faulkner 2009) is probably an even better reference which includes much more
historical information about the companies than Covill and is possibly still
in print, unlike Covill. Please consult these books for more
information on the fascinating subject of ink bottles.

The difference between an "ink bottle" and an "inkwell"
is hard to define since they are both small bottles used as "containers for
ink" from which a pen (or quill)
was directly filled or dipped (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary 2009). So what is the real difference? Although both were
used in a similar fashion - to directly fill a quill or fountain pen - according to Munsey (1970) an "...inkwell
was a permanent and decorative container that was a relatively expensive
item", i.e., a
specialty bottle. An ink bottle was of a more disposable
utilitarian nature and often - but certainly not always - discarded after
use of the commercially produced contents contained in the bottle
(Nelson & Hurley 1967). Put another way, inkwells were more
decorative, typically purchased empty (like many liquor decanters), intended to be retained permanently
until broken or of no use, and were
filled over and over again from bulk sources. Ink bottles were sold commercially filled with ink and
frequently tossed after use although the frugality of the
times often dictated that ink bottles were frequently refilled (from a
bulk/master ink container) and used over and over again like an inkwell
(Munsey 1970; Covill 1971). In the end, the line is blurred between
the two although both are covered as separate bottle "types" below.

Glass
ink
bottles and inkwells definitely date back to before the period covered by
this website, i.e., prior to 1800, although they were not common before that
time. In Europe, glass inkwells dating from the early 18th century
have been noted and advertisements for ink bottles date at least as early as the
1770s (Van den Bossche 2001; Faulkner 2009). Historically, it was not until
the late 18th to early 19th century that ink was commonly available
commercially in liquid form. Up until that time the most common
commercial forms were as wafers, cakes, sticks, or as a powder from which
the purchaser/user would add water to make ink. Druggists as well as
printers, stationary and bookshop keepers often prepared, bottled, and sold
ink during the 19th century and before in the New World (McKearin & Wilson
1978). An example from an Oregon "stationers" business is discussed
later in this section.

Not all ink bottles or inkwells were made of glass,
of course. Just about any and every compatible material was used for
containing ink at some point including many different types of metal (e.g.,
iron, copper, tin, brass), various stone (e.g., soapstone, marble), various
woods, horn, ceramics and stoneware, hard rubber, and other materials much less
commonly (Covill 1971). Prior to beginning of the 19th century,
virtually all ink came ceramic containers which were still commonly used
throughout most of the 19th century also. The image to the right above is of three stoneware ink bottles
(smaller) and three bulk/master ink bottles that date from the 1850s to 1880s era.
The two larger stoneware bottles are English in origin, the smaller one
being stamped or incised with VITREOUS STONE BOTTLE / J. BOURNE & SON, /
PATENTEES / DENBY POTTERY / NEAR DENBY / (horizontal line) / P. & J.
ARNOLD, / LONDON; the larger bulk ink has slightly different lettering.
(Denby is about 150 miles NE of London.) All of the stoneware ink
bottle styles illustrated above are commonly encountered on historic sites
in the U. S. and Canada. In fact, all of the pictured examples
were excavated in the United States. Coverage of non-glass ink bottles
is, of course, beyond the scope of this website (another author can prepare a
stoneware/ceramic bottle website!) although they are pictured here to show the
major class of
alternative vessels used for ink during the 19th to early 20th centuries.

Ink bottles
(small)

As a general statement,
ink bottles (and inkwells) were designed for stability while being
used to fill a pen or dip a quill. To quote Munsey (1970), "...because
(pens and quills) must be dipped into the ink container frequently
during writing, ink bottles were designed to minimize tipping."
Although there is no universally accepted size cut-off point, generally speaking the majority of ink bottles hold 3 or 4 ounces of
ink or less, typically about 2 ounces. Anything above 3 or 4
ounces should probably be considered a bulk or
master ink - a subject covered in the next major section (Covill
1971).

There was a immense variety of different small ink
bottle made during the period covered by this website. This was
probably due to there being a demand for ink bottles that were
esthetically pleasing since they usually "...remained out on the
writing table in plain sight" (Munsey 1970). The
bottles and general types covered here barely scratches the surface of
the variety produced during the 19th through mid-20th centuries,
although does cover the most commonly encounter types.
As noted earlier, Covill's (1971) book "Ink bottles and inkwells" is the best
published source available to see the depth of variety of all types of
ink bottles (glass and other materials) which is immense, surely numbering in the many thousands
if not several tens of thousands of different types and/or variations.

Cylindrical:
A large (though unknown) percentage of ink bottles were round or cylindrical in
cross-section (Covill 1971). This is a very large grouping of
ink bottles - undoubtedly numbering in the many thousands of different
shapes and variations - of which only a few (of course) can be
discussed here. The two main "classes" of cylindrical ink
bottles covered here have body sides that are either conical (tapering
distinctly inwards from the base to the shoulder like the example to the left) or
vertical (no real taper from heel to shoulder).

Conical bodies: The conical ink style appears to have first originated
in the U. S. during the 1830s and are typically called simply "cones"
or "cone inks" by collectors
(Covill 1971). Glass makers called this plain style (i.e., with
no horizontal ring/rings at the shoulder) the "plain cone" style (Whitney
Glass Works 1904). The aqua example pictured to the above left is an
early example dating from the 1850s which is embossed with WOOD'S /
BLACK. INK / PORTLAND and is from Portland, Maine. (Image
courtesy of American Bottle Auctions.) These particular cone ink
bottles are typically
blow-pipe
or "open" pontil scarred (like the pictured
example), have a
rolled finish, typically about 2.3" to 2.5" tall and
2.5" in diameter, were blown in a true two-piece
"hinge" mold with no
air venting (note the mold seam dissecting the base into two equal
halves), and are attributed to Portland druggist
Nathan Wood (druggists often bottled ink in the 19th century and
before) who was in business from at least as early as 1851 until at least
the late 1880s; Nathan died in 1887 though his son continued the drug
business after that time (McKearin & Wilson 1978; Faulkner 2009). These
particular cone shaped ink bottles were also
made in shades of amber and olive green glass and date from the
earlier years of the business, i.e., 1850s to early 1860s.

The
equally early amber conical or "cone ink" pictured to the right dates
from the late 1840s or 1850s and was likely made by some New England glass house.
(Image courtesy of American Bottle Auctions.) This
example, like most of the early mouth-blown ink bottles, has a
blow-pipe or "open" pontil scar, a crudely sheared/cracked-off and
fire polished finish, and was blown in a two-piece hinge mold with no
evidence of mold air venting.
These early conical inks are relatively uncommon; the "umbrella"
style ink (covered later in this section) was much more commonly made
during the 1830s to 1870s era.
Click
base view to see the pontiled base of this bottle which also has
an embossed "X" and some other vague embossing that is of unknown
meaning today.

The
very similarly shaped cone ink bottles in aqua glass pictured in the
image to the left - although made 40+ years after the
previous example - are both embossed with L. H. THOMAS' / INK. These
bottles (side view and base view) are 2.5" (6.3 cm) tall, were both
blown in the same cup-base mold, have tooled patent finishes, and lack
obvious evidence of mold air venting. There might possibly be
some faint air venting marks integrated into the heel mold seam
although such is usually hard to discern from normal mold seam
irregularities. There are, in fact, differences in this mold seam
"roughness" between these two bottles indicating that the
mold seam bumps are not air venting marks. These bottles were
made in many colors including varies shades of green and amber glass
as well as colorless glass (Faulkner 2009).

(It should be noted here that small, mouth-blown ink bottles from the era of mold
air venting - i.e., mid 1880s to the mid to late 1910s - very often
lack mold air venting marks. Why? The author believes that the
very small mold size and the quickness that a small parison could be
expanded did not necessitate - or result in any substantive benefits -
from mold air venting. The open mold top and/or mold seam joints likely
provided adequate hot gas escape during bottle inflation.)

This particular style of L. H. THOMAS
cone ink
bottle dates from the late 19th century, i.e., the 1880s to
possibly the first decade of the 1900s based on the manufacturing
related diagnostic features noted above. The company was founded
sometime in the 1860s by Dr. Levi H. Thomas, a homeopathic physician
in Waterbury, VT., where he began his ink business in a nearby
barn. He moved to Reading, MI. in 1872, then to Chicago, IL. in
1879. The company used an assortment of ink and bulk ink bottles
beginning in the 1860s into at least the mid to late 1910s as
machine-made bottles have been observed by the author (Covill 1971;
Faulkner 2009; empirical observations). (The machine-made Thomas ink bottles
observed by the author were very similar in manufacture to the two
machine-made, cylindrical inks discussed in the "mold seam anomalies"
box later in this section.) Of additional interest in
regards to this company is the labeled
L. H. Thomas ink bottle
listed further down the page which dates pretty firmly from 1871 or
1872.

One
of the most commonly encountered cylindrical ink bottle styles are the
"ring shoulder cone inks" like the typical example pictured to the right
(with base view to the far right). Bottle makers called this style
a "cone ink", "ring cone", or
"cone carmine" - and likely by other names also (Hagerty
Brothers & Co. 1898; Illinois Glass Co. 1898, 1911; Whitney Glass Works 1904).

This style is typified by a body that tapers
distinctly inwards from the heel to the base of a flaring shoulder ring.
This distinctive style appears to be a natural evolutionary extension
of the earlier non-ring shoulder cone inks discussed earlier.
Although probably American in origin, virtually identical ink bottles
were also produced in England (Covill 1971). The capacity was
typically around 2 oz. with a height of about 2.5".
The ring shoulder cone ink style seems to have originated by at least
the mid to late 1870s and continued in use into at least the 1920s with the
bottles made mostly by machines by the mid 1910s. By the
mid-1920s the style tended towards having an external screw thread
finish instead of being cork sealed; they are not commonly seen in
catalogs after the 1920s (Whitall Tatum & Co. 1879; Illinois Glass Co.
1911, 1925; Obear-Nester Glass Co. 1922; empirical observations).

The
ca. 1890s (most likely) amber cone ink pictured to the right above
(far left in the group image to the left) is
embossed on the base with CARTER'S / 87. The "87" was a mold
number of unknown meaning today and was probably simply for mold
cataloging and/or tracking at the unknown glass company which made these bottles.
This ink has a tooled
double ring finish, was blown in a
post-bottom mold, and
lacks evidence of mold air venting (an observation discussed with the
previous cone ink and at the bottom of this section). The
Carter Ink Company began business in 1858 and continued until
1976, when it was acquired by the Dennison Company.
The Carter's Ink Co. used many hundreds of different types and
sizes of ink bottles during it reign as the largest producer of ink in
the U. S. during most of the noted span of operation (Faulkner 2009).

The group of five cylindrical ink bottles
pictured to the left above are also
very typical cone inks most likely made by an assortment of bottle
makers (although none have makers markings). This image shows
just a
few of the color variations possible in cone inks which were made in just about any
color imaginable including various shades of olive green, cobalt blue,
emerald green, and more. These bottles basically share the same
manufacturing features as the amber cone described above (except the
four on the right have one-part "bead"
finishes instead of the double ring) and all date from the 1880s to
1910s era. A couple of the inks (second and
fourth from left) were made in post-bottom molds and likely date from the 1900 to
1910s range; the fourth ink (amber) also has two small air venting
marks on each side of the outside edge of the shoulder ring. Ring shoulder cone inks were probably the most common
single ink bottle type made during the noted era and particularly
between 1890 and the late 1910s. Prior to that
time
the "umbrella ink" was probably the most common small ink bottle type; after that era,
cylindrical and
square ink bottles with vertical body sides were most common. (These
types are discussed shortly.)

The following cylindrical ink
bottles have vertical body sides instead of the inwardly
tapering (towards the shoulder) bodies of the cone inks
discussed above.

Vertical
bodies: The
cylindrical, non-conical ink bottle with the label pictured to the right is an
English made bottle (the label notes that the ink was Made in Gt.
Britain) from the 1890s to 1910s range. This bottle is 2" (5
cm) tall and 1.75" (4.5 cm) in diameter. These (and
similar) type inks were
commonly imported into the U. S. and Canada and are often found on
historic sites of that era. The close-up image shows the rough
"burst-off" type finish (which is almost a non-finish
finish) which is very commonly encountered with English made ink
bottles though was also used in U. S. ink bottle manufacture also (see
the "school house" ink bottle later in this section). Click the following link
to see an amazing film clip from the early 20th century showing glass
blowers using the burst-off method of detaching the blowpipe: Early 20th century
mouth-blown bottle making film clip.
Film clip is compliments of the
Owens-Illinois Glass Company. (Many thanks to Phil Perry, engineer with
that company.) Click
base view to see such.

The light green, cylindrical ink bottle pictured to the right is an early (ca. 1900
to 1910s) and quite crude machine-made example that likely was made
by a
semi-automatic bottle machine, although such is impossible to say
for sure. This
example is 2.5" (6.3 cm) tall and 1.9" (4.9 cm) in diameter
(about 2 oz. capacity), was
blown in a post-bottom type mold, has crude (wavy, bubbly) glass, and no
vertical mold seams visible in the finish. There is, however, a sharp
horizontal seam encircling the base of the finish that the vertical
side seams terminate at. Click
on the following links for more images of this bottle:
base view ;
close-up of the shoulder, neck and finish. The finish and
manufacturing method of this ink bottle is further elaborated on in
the box below.

The
image to the left is of a 2 oz. (capacity embossed on the neck),
machine-made ink bottle of colorless (very faint straw tint) glass
which is very similar in shape to the previously
discussed ink. The base of this typical sized (2.75" [6.8 cm] tall)
ink bottle is embossed with SHEAFFERS / (an Owens-Illinois
Glass Co.
makers marking and numbers) / SKRIP.
Skrip was a
proprietary name for a line of inks made by the Sheaffers Ink Co.
which began business in 1913 in Fort Madison, Iowa.
Skrip ink was first produced by the company in 1922 and was
particularly suited for use in fountain pens; it is still in production today.
(Information source: http://www.sheaffer.com/) The
Owens-Illinois Glass Co. marking on the base includes a "22" (very
faint but discernable) to the left of the "diamond O-I" mark which
should
indicate production by plant #22 (San Francisco, CA.) and a date code of
"0" which indicates manufacture in 1940. The
Owens-Illinois San Francisco plant closed in 1937 with the mold
likely transferred to some other
Owens-Illinois plant and used there until at least 1940 and
probably later (Lockhart 2004d; Lockhart pers. comm. 2009). This
also explains the observation that only the embossed plant code -
which appears to have been purposefully (though not completely)
obliterated - is not sharply defined on the base. Click on the
following link for a
base view of this bottle showing the embossing and
Owens Automatic Bottle Machine induced
suction scar (pointed out). This style of ink bottle was
called a "round ink," "cylinder ink," "round mucilage" (the shape was
also used for glue), and likely other terms (Illinois Glass Co. 1903,
1924; Cumberland Glass Co. 1911; Fairmount Glass Works ca. 1930).
The finish and manufacturing
method of this ink bottle is also further elaborated on in the box below.

There
are some interesting mold related features on the last two
machine-made cylindrical ink bottles discussed above (the
medium green glass ink and the
Sheaffers ink bottle) that are very often observed on
machine-made ink bottles produced during the first half of the 20th century.
Similar features are also occasionally encountered on some relatively wide mouth
bottles used for other products, like shoe polish.
(Note: This discussion is also pertinent to some of the other
noted
machine-made ink bottles discussed further down the page.)

The image to the right is a close-up of the shoulder, neck and finish
of the noted Sheaffers ink bottle (click to enlarge for more
detail). The image shows the
vertical side mold seam ending on the outside edge of the one part bead finish
at a
"ring" mold (the upper portion of a
parison or "blank" mold) induced horizontal mold seam that
encircles the extreme outer edge of the finish. The side
mold seam does not extend onto the top surface of the
finish, i.e., does not cross the rim and in fact, does not
extend the full length of the outside edge of the bead finish.
These features are pointed out - and much more readable - on the
larger hyperlinked image; click to view.

The
image to the left is a close-up of the medium green,
machine-made ink bottle also discussed earlier. It has
similar ring/blank mold related mold seam features except with
this earlier (1900-1910s) ink, the side mold seam ends
distinctly at the base of the finish, not within the finish
itself like the example above. Click
on the image to view a larger and much more readable version
with the various features pointed out.

The termination of the side mold seam within (Sheaffers
ink) or at the base of (green ink) the finish - though
well short of the finish rim - on both bottles make it appear upon
casual glance that these are mouth-blown bottles having either
an
improved tooled finish (Sheaffers) or an
applied finish (green ink). However, both bottles are
most certainly machine-made. The Sheaffers
ink was made on the "blow-and-blow"
Owens Automatic Bottle Machine as indicated by the
previously noted makers marking for the Owens-Illinois Glass
Co., a distinct base suction scar, and a date code for
1940 which is well after the end of mouth-blown production of
these type utilitarian bottles. There is also
no neck ring mold seam immediately below the finish like found
on most Owens machine produced bottles (and on a majority of
all machine-made bottles). Instead, there is a mold seam located near the
base of the neck indicating that the neck ring mold portion of
the parison mold produced the finish, neck, and a portion of the
shoulder. (This is also pointed out on the image;
click to enlarge.)

The earlier green glass ink
bottle is also certainly machine-made, most likely on an early
semi-automatic, blow-and-blow machine based on its crudeness and
lack of a suction scar. It also has no neck ring mold seam
immediately below the finish on the extreme upper neck like found on most Owens machine
produced bottles (or on the majority of all machine-made
bottles). Instead, there is also one located near the
base of the neck indicating that the neck ring mold portion of
the parison mold produced the finish, neck, and a portion of the
shoulder. (This is also pointed out on the image above;
click to enlarge.) Both these ink bottles also exhibit no
sign of the concentric, horizontal lipping tool induced marks
that would be present on a mouth-blown bottle finish that was
tooled to shape.

A somewhat analogous phenomenon is noted on many press-and-blown, machine-made milk
bottles produced during the first half of the 20th century. Click
Food Bottles & Canning Jars to view a discussion of this
exception which has some differences in the mold seam
orientation compared to ink bottles, but does share the
horizontal ring-mold induced mold seam on the outside edge of the finish
and vertical side seams that do not even reach the base of the
finish.

Other images of cylindrical ink bottles
are
available by clicking on the following links:

L.
H. Thomas labeled cone ink - The aqua, body unembossed, cone ink
pictured to the right is labeled as having been used for "Black Ink"
by the L. H. Thomas Company of Reading, MI. It is
2.3" tall (2.6" diameter at the base), was blown in a
post-bottom
mold, has a cracked-off and ground finish/rim, an unusual molded
ring at the base of the neck (see image), and lacks evidence of air
venting. It is embossed on the base with L & W
which is the makers marking for Lorentz & Wightman - a
Pittsburgh, PA. glass maker of some note - who used that marking
during the period from 1862 to about 1871 (Toulouse 1971).
Since the L.
H. Thomas Company reportedly moved to Reading in 1872 from
Vermont (then to Chicago, IL. in 1879) this bottle has to date
somewhere around 1872 given the noted makers marking although this
could be an example of bottle re-use if the noted bottle makers end
date is accurate (Covill 1971; Faulkner 2009).

BILLINGS
/ MAUVE INK - That is embossed on this late 1860s to early
1870s (Faulkner 2009) ink
bottle pictured to the right that is of a cylindrical style called a
"domed" ink by collectors, though referred to as a "flat
ink" or "flat domed
carmine" by some bottle makers (Whitall Tatum & Co. 1879; Hagerty Bros. 1898).
More specifically it is a "domed central neck ink bottle" to
differentiate it from the "domed with offset neck ink bottles" which
are often called "igloo" inks and are covered further down the page
(Covill 1971). It has a crudely tooled bead finish although the other
manufacturing details of this bottle are unknown (photos from eBay).
The company began business about 1866 and lasted until 1872 or so
(Faulkner 2009); their
"Mauve ink" was a type of ink that apparently applied mauve
in color but turned black when it dried (Covill 1971).
Click on the following links for more images of this bottle:
close-up of the tooled finish and neck;
image of this ink bottle with a BILLINGS embossed master/bulk
ink.

"Drape
pattern" cone style ink (blue bottle) - These early, decorative, non-ring
shoulder cylindrical cone inks date from the 1850s or 1860s.
The embossed, downward arching loops on the body are reminiscent of
hanging drapes to collectors giving the style its name (Covill
1971). The cobalt blue example pictured (they were made in
different colors) has a blow-pipe pontil scar on the base (type of
mold conformation is unknown though would likely be a true two-piece
hinge mold given the era), has a crudely applied double ring finish,
is almost 4" tall, and would certainly lack evidence of mold air
venting. Click on
base view to see such showing the blow-pipe pontil scar.
(Photos courtesy of American Bottle Auctions.)

Swirl body cone ink (colorless bottle to the far right) - This
is an interesting cone ink variation in that it has a very
decorative body but is machine-made, probably dating from the 1920s
or 1930s (70-80 years after the blue ink next to it above).
This is much more decorative than the typical machine-made cone or
cylindrical ink. Click on the following links to see more
images of this bottle:
base view;
side view showing the design well;
finish view where the machine induced ring mold seam is just
visible (pointed out with arrows) encircling the outside edge of the
rim.

More to come in the future...

Square/rectangular:
The next most abundant shape group for ink bottles are probably those that
are square/rectangular in cross-section. This is also a very large group of
bottles - undoubtedly numbering in the many thousands of different
shapes and variations. Square ink
bottles first appeared in any quantities around the time of the
American Civil War, after cylindrical inks were well established;
square pontiled ink bottles are very unusual. (Note: Square inkwells appeared earlier with some of the first American
made examples [pattern
molded] reportedly produced by the Pitkin Glass Works
(East Hartford, CN.) around 1810 to 1820 [Covill 1971; McKearin &
Wilson 1978; Buckley 1985].) Later ink bottles (late 19th
century through most of the 20th) were commonly made with square
bodies, rivaling cylindrical shapes in popularity. Rectangular
pontiled ink bottles are a bit more common than square pontiled ones
though still unusual. Conversely to square ink bottles,
rectangular inks largely disappeared in the early 1900s in American
bottle makers catalogs; rectangular machine-made ink bottles are
uncommon (Illinois Glass Co. 1903, 1911, 1920, 1924; Cumberland Glass
Co. 1911; Covill 1971). In England, rectangular "boat" inks were
still commonly made until at least WW1 (covered below).

The blue aqua square ink pictured above left is
what is referred to as a "school house" or "cottage" ink bottle for obvious
reasons - it is actually shaped like a little house with six embossed
windows and a door (Haggerty Brothers & Co. 1898). It is embossed on the four sides of the
beveled "roof" with NE - PLUS - ULTRA - FLUID.
(NE PLUS ULTRA is Latin for essentially "the best.") This ink
bottle is 2.4" (6.1 cm) tall and 2" (5 cm) wide on each side, has a
crudely cracked-off and slightly ground down rim "straight"
finish, smooth non-pontiled base (embossed dot in the center), and
was blown in a post-bottom mold with no evidence of mold air venting.
These particular ink bottles are believed to have been produced at the
San Francisco & Pacific Glass Works in the 1870s or early 1880s
(empirical observations) since they are frequently excavated in the
West (an identical example was dug in Old Sacramento - see the
California State Parks website) and are of a deep blue aqua color
commonly associated with that glass company. In addition,
virtually identical bottles (although in amber glass) are known that
are embossed on the "roof" with S. F. - CAL. - INK - CO.
(Covill 1971). Click on the following links to view more images of
this bottle:
base view;
view of the other two sides of the bottle. There were an
assortment of house ink bottles made during the 19th century making them a very esthetic addition to ones desk and very
likely increasing the sales of the users (ink vendor) of such bottles
(Covill 1971).

The
square, colorless "house" or "school house" ink (popular collector
terms for these more generic "roofed" - beveled or flat sloped
shoulder - ink bottles) pictured to the right is embossed with CAW'S INK / NEW YORK
on one side panel as shown in the image (Nelson & Hurley 1967; Covill 1971). Ink bottles with
this type of distinctive beveled shoulders were usually
called "square carmines" (carmine = red ink), "beveled
shoulder square carmines" or just "carmines" by bottle makers.
The general style was commonly made
by many makers as mouth-blown items during the period beginning in the 1860s and continuing
through
the 1910s (Whitall Tatum & Co. 1880; Hamilton Co. 1898; Whitney Glass
Works 1904; Illinois Glass Co. 1903, 1911; Covill
1971). The carmine style also made the leap onto automatic
machines with a very similar look (and name) being made until at least
the 1940s (Fairmount Glass Co. ca. 1930; Lucas County Bottle Co. ca.
1940s). Although the style was called a "carmine" by bottle
makers, they were also used for other ink colors (Covill 1971).

Back to the pictured bottle...Caw's Ink &
Pen Company (they also made fountain pens) began
business with that name in 1886 and continued at least until World War
1. This company's trademark was a crow sitting on an ink
bottle similar to this example (Information source:
http://www.kamakurapens.com/Caws/Caws.html; Faulkner 2009). This bottle has a
tooled patent style finish, was blown in a cup-base mold, is 2" (5.1
cm) tall, and appears to lack evidence of mold air venting.
Given the company begin date noted, the evidence (except for a lack of
air venting) points towards a likely manufacturing range of 1890 and
1910. Click
base view to see the cup-base mold produced base. An
illustration of the "carmine" style ink bottle being offered by the
Illinois Glass Co. in 1906 is available at this link:
IGCo. 1906 catalog pages 104-105. They offered four sizes ranging from 1/2 to 4 ounces.
An example of a very large (10 oz.) carmine style ink bottle of
unknown origin is covered further down the page.

The
colorless (faintly manganese dioxide induced "pink") ink bottle
pictured to the left is embossed on three sides with C. HIRSTEL &
Co / STATIONERS / PORTLAND, OGN. "OGN" was an abbreviation
for Oregon which was vogue during the 1870s to mid 1890s (empirical
observations). This rounded shoulder type square ink was referred to as a "round shouldered carmine" ink bottle
by bottle makers, although
like the beveled shoulder example listed above, the style was used for
more than just red ink (Whitall Tatum & Co. 1880; Covill 1971).
This bottle (which is commonly encountered as an unembossed bottle
also) is 2.5" (6.7 cm) tall, had a tooled patent
(almost prescription) finish, was blown in a cup-base mold, and has no
obvious evidence of mold air venting. Click on the following
links for more images of this bottle:
base view;
the other two sides of this bottle. No history is available
about Hirstel & Co. stationary shop although the bottle
likely dates from the 1875 to 1885 based on the diagnostic features
(listed below), the OGN abbreviation, and the context it was found.
(The company and this bottle could be further researched via Portland/Oregon business
directories which are available at the Oregon Historical Society
in Portland - http://www.ohs.org.) As noted in the introduction to this
section, stationary shops (aka "stationers") were common purveyors of
bottled ink.

The
commonly encountered
ink bottle pictured to the right is a machine-made square ink that is
fairly decorative in design. It is embossed on the base with
SANFORD'S / 276. It also has embossing on three of the body
sides: 2 OZ. - SMCo (intertwined monogram) - 2 OZ.
Click
base view to see such showing the noted embossing. This
bottle has some manufacturing similarities to the two machine-made
cylindrical ink bottles discussed in the box above.
Specifically, it has a vertical side mold seam that ends at a
horizontal seam that encircles the outside of the bead type lip as
well as a horizontal mold seam encircling the bottle shoulder where
the lower ring below the neck base meets the upper edge of the
shoulder (these are pointed out in the larger image one gets by
clicking on the image to the right). This indicates the unusual
machine-mold conformation that formed the finish, neck, and upper
shoulder in the ring (parison) mold, as discussed above. This bottle
most likely dates from between 1910 and 1930. Click
1928 Sanford's Ink advertisement to see such which shows a very
similar ink bottle in one of that companies ads.

The
Sanford's Manufacturing Company (aka Sanford's Ink Co.)
began in 1857 (MA.) as an ink and glue manufacturer and is still in
business today. For more information, see the company's history
page at this link:
Sanford history. Sanford's used a very wide
variety of machine-made smaller and bulk/master ink bottle types and
shapes during the first half of the 20th century, though did utilize
an assortment of mouth-blown bottles prior to the 1910s (Covill 1971;
Faulkner 2009). Various
types of square, machine-made ink bottle similar to this with one or
two rings at the base of the neck (though certainly not all embossed
like this example) were commonly produced from the 1910s to the 1940s
although later ones were also made with external screw threads
(Illinois Glass Co. 1924; Fairmount Glass Co. ca. 1930). For
scores of images of Sanford's ink bottles visit the
Sanford's Ink bottles page of the website 1001 Ink Bottles.

Other images of square/rectangular ink bottles
are
available by clicking on the following links:

Large
"carmine" style ink bottle - This is a large (3.8" [9.8 cm] tall
and 2.5" [6.5 cm] to a side) carmine style (aka "schoolhouse") ink
bottle that holds a full 10 ounces (the author measured it) which
puts it into the bulk ink category although of an ink bottle shape.
The bore was ground on the inside to fit a matching glass stopper
(stopper missing) indicating its a possible use as a reusable ink
well. The bottle is of colorless (faint straw tinted) glass,
has a tooled bead type finish, and was blown in a cup-base mold
which appears to have not been air vented. It was most likely
produced between 1890 and 1905. Click on the following links
for more views of this bottle:
base view showing the absence of embossing or mold seams;
close-up of the distinctive beveled shoulder typical of the
carmine style. This image shows the frosted appearance to the
inside of the neck indicative of the bore having been ground for a
glass stopper. Carmine inks with glass stoppers were a common
offering of bottle makers during the last quarter of the 19th
century into the early 20th (Whitall Tatum & Co. 1879,1909; Haggerty
Bros. 1898).

English
burst-off finish rectangular ink - These are a commonly
encountered ink bottle type which are sometimes referred to by
collectors as "boat ink" bottles although the resemblance is vague.
There are many variations of this largely English-made style though
they are usually rectangular (sometimes square) in shape, typically
have a crudely burst-off straight finish (sometimes with cursory
grinding to smooth out the sharpness of the rim - like the pictured
example), blown in cup-base molds, and have distinctive grooves on
two opposite sides of the body to set a pen upon (Covill 1971;
empirical observations). The majority of the bottles are
either aqua glass although colors can range from colorless to many
shades of green and amber, to cobalt blue. Click on the
following links to view more images of this bottle:
base view;
end view;
side view.

More additions in the future...

Multi-sided (more than four sides):
This a large and varied class of ink bottles bound together by
having more than four flattened body sides or panels. Typically the
body panel conformations are either "conical" (picture to the
left; bodies narrowing dramatically from the heel to the shoulder) or
"vertical" (examples further below; bodies roughly equal in diameter
at the heel and shoulder). Once again, there are hundreds of not
thousands of different and often subtle variations of multi-sided ink bottle theme
(Covill 1971; Faulkner 2009) with only a few of the more common shapes covered here.

Umbrella inks were made for a very long time starting at least as early as
1840 to as late 1909 (Whitall Tatum & Co. 1879; 1902, 1911;
Haggerty Brothers 1898; Robert Alther 1909; Cumberland Glass Co. 1911;
McKearin & Wilson 1978). In the Whitall Tatum & Co.
catalogs the
"fluted pyramid" umbrella ink bottles disappear sometime between the 1902
and 1909 catalogs, although they were significantly waning in popularity to the cone ink and other styles
beginning by the 1880s. By the late 1890s they were
an insignificant minority of ink bottles produced (empirical
observations). The author has never observed a machine-made
umbrella ink nor found any reference to examples (except some modern reproductions some of which are marked
JAPAN on the base) and the style is thought to have disappeared prior to
the introduction of bottle machines capable of produced narrow neck
bottles (Covill 1971).

The
typical height for most umbrella inks is around 2.3" to 2.5", though
ranges from under 2" for the smallest size up to 4" for the
largest ones (Covill 1971; Faulkner 2009). Umbrella inks were made in a myriad of
glass colors - essentially any color that a bottle was blown it during the
19th century. Aqua is by far the most commonly used color, though
the spectrum is very wide as indicated by the image at this link -
umbrella ink color variety - which shows examples ranging from
colorless to various shades of amber and green to cobalt blue.

The umbrella ink pictured to the right
is an
early American example dating from the 1840s or early 1850s. It
was most likely
made by a New England glass house, although it could also have been
produced by a Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or New York maker. It is
2.5" tall, was blown in a "key base" mold, has a blowpipe type pontil
scar, and no evidence of air venting. It has a straight finish
that was likely cracked off from the blowpipe then re-heated and
tooled a bit to make a smoother finish. Click on the following
links to see more images of this ink bottle:
base view which shows the "key" mold base seam (squared notch in
the vicinity of the pontil scar);
close-up of the upper shoulder, neck and finish showing more
clearly the vague ridge that indicates the point where the top of the
mold ended.

The aqua umbrella ink pictured to the left is
a much later version dating most likely from the 1890s though could be
from the very first years of the 20th century. This dating
estimate is based in part on the context it was found as well as some
manufacturing related diagnostic features, i.e., the later tooled
one-part finish, production in a cup-base mold, limited crudeness to
the glass and a "sharper" appearance to the lines of the glass as
compared to the earlier (pre-1870s) examples. This example also
has some light
patination to the surface of the glass from being buried for over
100 years. Click on
base view to see the base of this bottle which has the absence of
mold seams typical of cup-base mold produced bottles. This
example also has part of the original cork closure and some dried contents
visible - and what appears to be dried black ink.

The following
multi-sided ink
bottles have vertical body sides instead of the inwardly
tapering (towards the shoulder) bodies of the umbrella inks
discussed above.

Vertical
bodies: The other major grouping of multi-sided inks are
those with more or less vertical sides, where the diameter of of the
base and the shoulder are about the same. This style was
most popular during the mid-19th century, i.e., from about 1835 to
1865 (Covill 1865) though there are many exceptions one type of which
is covered below (empirical observations). Some multi-sided,
vertical body ink bottles were also made by automatic bottle machines
but most inks of that era are cylindrical or 4-sided (square and
rectangular).

The
twelve sided ink bottle pictured to the right is an early (1840s or
1850s) example that has a blowpipe pontil scar, a cracked-off/sheared
finish that was rolled or folded inwards, is about 2" tall, and has a
crudeness to the glass supporting its early manufacture. Most
multi-sided inks of this general shape and age were made in aqua
glass, though examples can be found in a multitude of colors, like the
deep blue-green of the illustrated example (Covill 1971; McKearin &
Wilson 1978). (Photo courtesy of American Glass Auctions.)

The
octagonal ink bottles pictured to the left are English in origin.
These bottles were burst-off from the blowpipe and received no additional
finishing which resulted in the very crude and sharp finish visible in the
image (click to enlarge). This method of "finishing" a bottle
was common with cheap, mouth-blown, utilitarian bottles made in England
in the late 1800s to as late as 1920 (Boow 1991:60). Click
labeled English ink to view an identical example from the same
era (around 1900) with the original label indicating its use by an
English ink producer for rubber stamp ink. These bottles also
have a vague makers mark on the base (not visible in image) that
resembles the goal posts on a football field. This mark is
certainly one used by a yet unknown English glass company as bases
with this mark are documented to have been found in the Ravensbourne
River at Deptford, Wiltshire, England (Toulouse 1971:557).
Although English-made, these type bottles are commonly encountered in
North America and are one of most typical bottles to be found with a
burst-off finish.

Other images of multi-sided (more than
four sides) ink bottles
are
available by clicking on the following links:

Green
umbrella ink with distinct shoulder (near right image) - The
pictured eight-sided umbrella ink is from around 1845 to 1860, has a
blowpipe pontil scar on the base, a rolled or folded finish, and is
quite crude as most bottles of this era were. This style of
umbrella ink is a variant with a more distinct shoulder ridge than
the others pictured here. Click on
base view to view the distinct blowpipe pontil scar and fairly
distinct "key base" two-piece mold seam which arches towards the
bottom of the bottle in this image.

Early amber umbrella ink (far right image) - This is an 1850s
umbrella ink was made by an unknown glass company east of the
Mississippi River. How do I know it was made east of the
Mississippi? Because there weren't any glass companies west of
that great river until the 1860s. It has a cracked-off/sheared
and re-fired straight finish, blow-pipe pontil scar, a very crude
though glossy body that indicates the entire bottle was likely fire
polished - probably when the finish was re-heated. This
generally smoothed out the lines of the bottle as is visible in a
comparison of the green umbrella with the amber example. Click on
base view to see the blowpipe pontil scar and a close-up of the
glossy surface appearance to the base also.

Labeled and pontiled umbrella ink (far right image below) -
As the label of this bottle shows, it contained "Jet Black Ink for
School Use." This is an 1850-1860 umbrella ink with a rolled
finish, has a blowpipe pontil scar, was blown in a true two-piece
mold, and is deep aqua in color. It of the style - an umbrella
which is a bit more compact in the body making it appear taller -
very popular during the mid-19th century. (Photo courtesy
Glass Works Auctions.)

HARRISON'S
/ COLUMBIAN / INK (image to the immediate right) - This is a grouping is of three different
colors of the Harrison's Columbian Ink - a fairly popular ink
during the mid-19th century given the number examples that are seen
today. They all have vertical 8 sided bodies, blow-pipe pontil
scars, cracked-off/sheared and rolled finishes and date from the
1840s to early 1860s period. These bottles were made for
Apollos W. Harrison who was a Philadelphia dealer in "books, maps
and ink" from about 1843 to 1877 (McKearin & Wilson 1978;
Faulkner 2009).
For close-up images of two of the pictured bottles (which were most
typically made in aqua glass) click on the following links:
blue example;
blue example base;
light green example;
light green example base which also shows the distinct mold seam
equally dissecting the base indicating production in a true
two-piece mold. (Photos courtesy of American Bottle Auctions.)

HARRISON'S
/ COLUMBIA / INK (image to immediate right) - Another common
example from the same producer discussed above, this bottle may well
be a very small "bulk" or "master" ink (covered below). These
ink bottles come in many sizes ranging from 2.5" (1 oz.) up to a
gallon size at a large 11.5" tall (McKearin & Wilson 1978).
The pictured example is aqua in color, 3.6" tall, 2" in
diameter with eight equal vertical sides, a crudely applied two part
collared ring finish (the closest fit to the finish styles
described elsewhere on this site), a very distinct blowpipe style
pontil scar, and was blown in an apparent (hard to say for sure) two
piece post-bottom mold with no evidence of mold air venting.
Click on the following links to see more images of this bottle:
base view showing the protruding and very tubular blowpipe
pontil scar;
view of reverse side showing the word PATENT embossed on
the shoulder. It is not known as to what the patent was for,
though likely the ink itself not the bottle (Faulkner 2009). These bottles are
known to have been made at several South New Jersey glasshouses
including Whitney Brothers and Isabella Glass Works
(Covill 1971).

Vertical
8-sided ink with flared finish (image to far right above) - This is an unembossed, small
(under 3"), glass-tipped pontiled, octagonal paneled ink bottle that
likely dates from the 1860s. It is unusual in that it was
apparently blown in a cup-base mold as there is no evidence of a
mold seam across the base. Click
base view to see the base and the pontil scar. Some
significant use of cup-base molds in ink bottle production has been
noted by the author at a much earlier era - 1860s - than virtually
any other bottle style.

...more to come in the future including
some additional non-pontiled, later examples...

Other shapes:
There were, of course, many other types and shapes of ink bottles.
Distinctive or attractive packaging seemed to have been a common theme
in the production of ink bottles, driven by customer demand and glass
company ingenuity. A quick look through Covill (1971) indicates
categories such as "barrel shaped," "cabin & House shaped," "domed
with central neck," or simply "odd shaped" ink bottles. Some
commonly encountered or interesting types will be covered briefly in
this section.

One of the most commonly encountered "other"
styles of ink bottles are the "domed with offset neck" style (Covill
1971) which are simply called an "igloo," "teapot," or "turtle" ink by collectors
- names which are suggested by the shape (Nelson & Hurley 1967).
Period glass companies called this general shape the "fountain,"
"monitor" (after the Civil War ship), or "fluted fountain" for
those with a faceted lower side like the examples pictured above
(Whitall Tatum 1880; Robert Alther 1909; Freeman 1964; Covill 1971).
I'll just call them igloo inks here. Igloo inks were very
popular and extensively used for at least 35 to 40 years - 1865
through into the early 1900s - particularly in schools. Since
this distinctive style is unknown with either pontil scars or as
machine-made bottles, this supports the noted date range well (Covill
1971; empirical observations).

The
two ink bottles pictured above and again to the right are typical - and the
most commonly encountered - examples of igloo ink bottles (empirical
observations). These are embossed on the paneled lower sides with J
& I E M which are the initials for the J. & I. E. Moore
(for John & Isaac Elijah Moore) a
large ink producing concern located in Warren, MA. that began
operations in 1858 until being closed during the Great Depression in
the 1930s (Nelson & Hurley 1967; Faulkner 2009). This
firm allegedly first patented the shape on October 31st, 1865; the
earliest examples have that patent date - but not number - embossed on the
domed portion of the body. A check of Google Patents®
did not, however, locate any patent for any ink bottle being issued on that date,
although Faulkner (2009) illustrates a copy of the patent application.
Be that as it may, the J&IEM igloo inks are thought to be the
first of the style with scores of imitations (example below) being
commonly produced through
the end of the 19th century with a few manufactured into the very
early 1900s as noted earlier (Alther
1909).

The pictured bottles are around 1.75" tall and
2" to 2.25" in diameter; click
base view to see such. Both examples pictured were blown in
cup-base molds and lack evidence of mold air venting which is a common
feature of , though they were each finished differently. The
example on the right above, which is probably the earliest of the two,
has a rough burst-off
finish which received only the slightest amount of rim grinding to
remove some of the sharp edges. The other example (left) has a
standard tooled finish. These bottles are by far most commonly
seen in aqua color, though they can range widely from colorless to
various shades of green and amber to even cobalt blue (Nelson & Hurley
1967; Faulkner 2009; empirical observations). Click
amber J & I E M ink to see a dark amber example that also
has a tooled finish. These J & IEM ink bottles

Other images of "other shapes" of ink bottles
are
available by clicking on the following links:

DAVID'S
igloo ink - This is a subtle variation on the igloo ink theme
though not from J. & I. E. Moore. It is embossed
DAVID'S on the front which was probably for the John B.
Davids Co. of New Rochelle, N. Y. although it is possible the
bottle was used by the Thaddeus Davids & Co. of New York, N. Y.
- John B. being Thaddeus's son (Covill 1971; Faulkner 2009).
It also has a burst-off finish, probably blown in a cup-base mold
(unknown for sure) and dates from the 1870 to 1885 period. Click
reverse view to see the backside of this same bottle.
(Photos courtesy of American Bottle Auctions.)

Barrel ink bottles - Another somewhat popular genre of ink
bottles were barrel shaped. The style was reportedly first
marketed during William H. Harrison's' presidential campaign in 1840
(a barrel of hard cider being part of his campaign imagery) with
various barrel versions made up until around 1900; no machine-made
versions are known (Covill 1971; empirical observations).
Probably the most successful inks producers to use a barrel shaped
bottle (aqua bottle to the far right) was William E.
Bonney of South Hanover, MA. This bottle is embossed with
W. E. BONNEY and were used from establishment in 1865
(pontiled examples are known but uncommon) up until the late 1800s
in at least four sizes up to one quart (Covill 1971; Faulkner 2009; empirical
observations). Click
another Bonney ink bottle to see a similar sized example close
up. Both bottles are about 2" tall, smooth base, probably
blown in a true two-piece mold, and have both a rolled finish (image
to
right;
ca. 1865-1875) and a tooled patent finish (link above; ca.
1875-1885). (Images from eBay®)

The colorless glass example to the left of the Bonney
ink is a commonly encountered barrel shaped ink, although with the
barrel lying on its side instead up upright. This example has a tooled patent type finish, smooth
base, and dates from the 1870s most likely. It is embossed
with PAT OCT 17 1865 on the underside as the style was first patented
that year by Isaac N. Peirce of Philadelphia, PA. Peirce
relinquished the patent rights to Alonzo French (also of
Philadelphia) in 1869 (Faulkner 2009) who went on to improve upon
the style by replacing the 1865 patented base ridges or "feet" with
a flattened pedestal base for more stability in 1870. Click
1870 barrel ink patent to see the 1870 patent to Mr. French.
(The 1865 patent could not be located.) It is not known if
both styles were made concurrently thought it is likely; the
pictured example is of the 1865 patent style with the "feet" on the
base.

...more add later...

Dating summary/notes: Generally
speaking, the dating of these type bottles based on manufacturing
related diagnostic features follows most of the guidelines
presented throughout this website and summarized on the
Bottle Dating page; see that page for more information. A
few ink bottle specific manufacturing related diagnostic features and
dating trends have been noted by the author and are discussed as follows:

Small
ink bottles were one of the earlier bottle types to have tooled
finishes in relatively common usage - a consistent featured noted
for some other types of shorter/smaller (<7" tall) bottles. Similar to druggist and some
small medicine bottles, ink bottle finishing appears to have been
dominated by the
tooled finishing method by the mid-ish 1870s. The transition
from applied to tooled finishes is covered in more depth in a
section of the
Bottle Finishing main page.

Small ink bottles are among the earliest
bottles to be blown with some regularity in cup-base molds.
Cup mold bases are seen on ink bottles from the 1860s onwards,
particularly on igloo inks and some other sided inks (Covill 1971;
Faulkner 2009; empirical observations).

Small mouth-blown ink bottles sometimes lack
evidence of mold air venting marks on bottles that date from the period when
a majority of larger mouth-blown would have exhibited this feature, i.e., the late
1880s through the 1910s (empirical observations). Why?
Possibly because little air needed displaced during the blowing
process from small ink bottle molds and thus little need for air venting?

Early machine-made ink bottles have a side
mold seam idiosyncrasy which is often confusing to people, i.e., the
upper side mold seam sometimes ends short of the finish rim making
the bottle appear as though it might be mouth-blown with a tooled or
even applied finish, depending on the mold configuration. See
the
Machine-made ink
bottles: A vertical side mold seam anomaly discussion
earlier on this page for more information.

Small machine-made ink bottles are a type
(along with druggist, pharmaceutical, and some patent medicine and
liquor bottles) which commonly utilized
cork closures a bit later than many other bottle types, i.e., into
at least the mid 1930s. By the early 1920s, however, external screw thread
finishes were probably the dominant finish on ink bottles with cork
designed finishes largely disappearing by the late 1930s (Illinois
Glass Co. 1920, 1926; Fairmount Glass Works ca. 1930; Owens-Illinois
Glass Co. 1930; Munsey 1970; empirical
observations).

Ink bottles (bulk
sizes)

Bulk
ink bottles are also referred to as "master inks" and are
differentiated - somewhat arbitrarily - by being about 5" or more in
height and/or at least 4 oz. capacity (Covill 1971; Faulkner 2009). There
were
certainly bulk ink bottles which were under 5" in height
- like this 3.6" tall HARRISON'S
/ COLUMBIA / INK (which may hold close to 4 oz.) -
though 5" makes a fairly good breaking point as far as height is concerned
for the majority of bulk inks (Covill 1971). One other consideration is that bulk ink bottles
tend to have proportionally narrower bores than ink bottles since they were not
generally
intended to be used to directly fill fountain pens or dip ones quill
into (empirical observations). Bulk inks were generally made in
sizes near one-half pint, pint and quart although other sizes within this range
are not uncommon. There are also certainly bulk inks smaller
than 4 ozs. and sizes larger than a quart, though examples beyond the
ends of the 4 to 32 oz. range are very unusual (Covill
1971; Faulkner 2009).

Bulk
ink bottles were used to fill inkwells and to some degree empty ink
bottles (call them "economy" ink wells). These bottles - especially those
without a pouring
spout of some type (image to the right and above left) or without embossing indicating the use by an ink producer or
seller - are often referred to as "utility" bottles since they
could have been used for a wide array of non-carbonated liquid products.
The only way to tell if a "utility" bottle was used for ink is if the
bottle is still labeled indicating such use, has ink residue inside
(not uncommonly seen), or it has a pouring spout
which is a strongly indicative diagnostic feature of a bulk ink (Covill 1971;
empirical observations). The general class of
utility
bottles are covered later on this page. For simplicity, bulk inks
are divided into two subsets here - cylindrical and non-cylindrical.
(The blue-green bulk ink pictured to the right is discussed below.)

Cylindrical:
A large majority of bulk ink bottles are cylindrical in cross-section
(Nelson & Hurley 1967; Covill 1971; Faulkner 2009; empirical observations).
As noted in other sections of this website, cylindrical bodies are
inherently stronger than other body shapes all other things being
equal, e.g., bottle size, glass thickness and quality (Tooley 1953;
Glass Industry 1959). The subjective speculation of this author
as to why the majority were cylindrical may well have revolved around
the potential nasty mess one would have if a bottle of ink broke
versus other less messy substances. Whatever the reason,
cylindrical bodies dominates the bulk/master ink category.

The two small (approx. 6" tall and 2" in diameter) bulk ink or utility
bottles to the left are from the pre-Civil War era, dating from
between the 1830s and 1850s. Both are somewhat generic
utility type bottles and neither has a pour spout. So without a
label identifying the actual use one can never know for sure although
these type bottles were used very commonly for ink. Click on
early, pontiled utility bottle with an ink label to see a very
similar bottle clearly used for ink. Click on the following
links to see more images of the two illustrated bottles:
base view showing the blow-pipe pontil scars on the base and
two-piece "hinge mold" production as evidenced by the mold seam
equally dissecting the base (not totally visible in the linked image);
close-up of the shoulder, neck and finishes showing the short,
squatty mineral type applied finishes without pour spouts. Both
these bottles are typical of the utilitarian items produced by many of
the earlier New England and Midwestern glass houses during the 1820s
to 1850s period.

The
small (4.25" tall, 1.5" in diameter) olive green bottle pictured to
the far right is a commonly encountered utility bottle type (usually in
aqua glass, less commonly in other colors like the pictured olive green) that was
also commonly used for ink, as well as medicines and other liquid
products. This particular bottle dates from the 1840s or 1850s,
was blown in a true two-piece
"keyed"
hinge mold, has a blowpipe type pontil scar and no evidence of
mold air venting. Click on
the following links to view more images of this bottle:
base view showing the blowpipe style pontil scar over a true
two-piece mold seam (aka "hinge mold");
close-up of the shoulder, neck and finish showing the very thin
and delicate flared finish which was formed by re-heating and tooling
(with some simple tool like a jack) the glass remaining after blowpipe
removal. Like the two utility/bulk ink bottles pictured
immediately above, this style of utilitarian bottle was a common
production item for many earlier glass houses in U. S.

The small (3.9" tall), colorless glass utility
bottle to the immediate right is a possible "bulk" ink of a very small
size as it has a very distinctly formed pour spout incorporated into
the narrow flared tooled finish. This small bottle was blown in
a three-piece mold lacking any evidence of mold air venting and was
found in a context indicating manufacture in the 1870s. These
type small utility bottles from the 1860s to early 1900s were commonly
made in either two-piece cup-base molds or in a three-piece mold like
this example. Click
close-up of the shoulder, neck and finish to view the well formed
though delicate pour spout; this image also shows the very distinct
three-piece mold shoulder and neck seams. This bottle certainly
could have been used for medicines of some type, with the pour spout
making dosing easier. However, the big majority of mouth-blown
bottles with formed pour spouts were used for ink so it is most likely
that was the use of this small bottle also (and other ink bottles were
found in the same context).

The
brilliant medium blue-green bulk ink bottle pictured to the left
dates from the 1875 to 1885 era based on its applied finish,
post-bottom mold production, lack of mold air venting, and the context
it was found. This example is 8.25" tall and 2.5" in diameter and is
embossed with CARTER'S on the shoulder. It was common
during the 19th century and into at least the first third of the 20th
century, for bulk ink bottles to be made with bright, eye attracting
colored glass; likely for marketing purposes. Click on the
following links to see more views of this bottle:
close-up of the applied, pour spout finish showing the pour spout
which was shaped by some type of glassmakers tool (also shown earlier
in this section above);
base view showing the slightly indented post-bottom base
conformation. The
Carter Ink Company began business in 1858 and continued until
1976, when it was acquired by the Dennison Company.
The Carter's Ink Co. used many hundreds, if not thousands, of different types and
sizes of ink bottles during it reign as the largest producer of ink in
the U. S. during most of the noted span of operation (Faulkner 2009).

The tall (8.1 ") deep cobalt blue bottle to the right was likely
used as a bulk ink
bottle although once again, it is not embossed or labeled as such and could have contained other non-ink (and non-carbonated) liquid products.
It has an applied two-part finish that is a cross between the
"mineral" (the short, sharp lower part) and "double ring" types (the
taller, distinctly rounded upper part), was blown in a two-piece
post-bottom mold, lacks evidence of mold air venting, and dates most
likely from the late 1870s based on the context it was found in. Click on the following links to see more images of this bottle:
base view (post-bottom mold production though the seams
are not easily visible in the image);
close-up of the shoulder, neck and finish showing the crudely
applied finish. Of note also, about 1/2" below the rim in the
bore of the finish is the diagnostic ledge indicating that the bottle
was almost certainly sealed with a "club sauce" type glass stopper and
shell cork. (More information on this closure type is found at
this link:
club sauce type closure.)

Another
general form seen in early to mid-20th century machine-made bulk ink
bottles is the amber bottle pictured to the left and in the adjacent
1928 illustration. It has a slightly
bulging shoulder and heel and is of a shape used by several ink
manufacturers during the noted ear. This particular bottle is 6" tall and
2.4" in diameter, machine-made with a crown type finish, and is
embossed with SANFORD'S INKS / HALF PINT / & LIBRARY PASTE.
(Note: The embossing is painted with watercolors to highlight it;
photo from eBay®.) The bottle was
sealed with a modified crown cap closure as shown in the illustration. Click on the following links to see more
images of this bottle:
base view faintly showing the diamond makers mark indicating
probable production by the Illinois Glass Co. (Alton, IL.)
sometimes between the late 1910s and 1929 when it was combined with
the Owens Bottle Company to form the Owens-Illinois Glass
Co. (Toulouse 1971);
close-up of the shoulder, neck and finish showing the standard
crown cap accepting finish. The
Sanford's Manufacturing Company (aka Sanford's Ink Co.)
began in 1857 (MA.) as an ink and glue manufacturer and is still in
business today. For more information, see the company's history
page at this link:
Sanford history.

Other shapes (non-cylindrical): The most common
non-cylindrical shape for bulk ink bottles are those with vertical,
equal-sided paneled bodies; 6, 8 and 12 sides being most observed.
Bottles which are square, rectangular, or (even rarer) oval in cross-section are very
unusual and are frequently bottles intended for other products re-used
for ink (Nelson & Hurley 1967; Covill
1971; Faulkner 2009; empirical observations). A couple examples
follow though there are likely hundreds of other examples produced
during the period covered by this website:

The bluish aqua, 12-sided bulk ink pictured to the
right is an early (~1845-1860) bulk ink bottle from one of the largest
ink producing companies of the mid-19th century - the Apollos W.
Harrison Ink Company of Philadelphia, PA. (Photo courtesy of
Glass Works Auctions.) Apollos W. Harrison was a Philadelphia
dealer in "books, maps
and ink" as well as a perfumer from about 1843 to 1877 (McKearin
& Wilson 1978; Faulkner 2009). This medium size example (~6"
tall; a pint+) is in the middle of a series of 8 and 12 sided ink
bottles produced for the company ranging from 2.5" (<1 oz.) up to a
gallon size at a large 11.5" tall (McKearin & Wilson 1978). (A
3.6" tall example is discussed earlier on this page.) This
example is embossed with HARRISON'S - COLUMBIAN - INK vertically on
three of the 12 panels and has PATENT on the shoulder which was
apparently for the ink and not the bottle shape (Faulkner 2009).
The smaller (<3.5") examples (8 sided) were probably ink bottles
presumably filled from the larger bulk versions. These bottles
are known to have been made at several South New Jersey glasshouses
including Whitney Brothers and Isabella Glass Works
(Covill 1971). Most of these bottles are pontil scarred, lack
mold air venting, were blown in a true two-piece hinge mold, and have
a distinctive flared
collared ring finish like the illustrated bottle.

A commonly seen bulk ink bottle from the
late 1920s to early 1930s are the very decorative "cathedral" style bottles pictured
to the left. These bottles were produced in three different bulk
sizes - quart (9.75" tall), pint (7.8" tall), and half pint (6.25"
tall) - as well as a smaller cobalt blue ink bottle (not illustrated)
with a related design
(Covill 1971; Faulkner 2009). These bottles were produced for
the Carter's Ink Company (Boston, Mass.) to sell their "RYTO
Permanent Ink"; the bottles have CARTER embossed twice around the
lower body as well as CARTER'S on the base. All the bottles are
machine-made and utilized a rubber cork closure with a screw cap pour
spout on top (click on the two bottle image to see the closures).
For more images of this bottle style, click on the following links:
view of three sizes of these gothic or cathedral style ink bottles;
view of the bases of the three sizes. These bottles were
sometime produced in a lighter sapphire blue (two bottle image shows
color comparison) and rarely in colorless glass (Faulkner 2009).
The
Carter Ink Company began business in 1858 and continued until
1976, when it was acquired by the Dennison Company.
The Carter's Ink Co. used many hundreds of different types and
sizes of ink bottles during it reign as the largest producer of ink in
the U. S. during most of the noted span of operation (Faulkner 2009).

Dating summary/notes: The dating of these type bottles based on manufacturing
related diagnostic features very closely follow the guidelines
presented throughout this website and summarized on the
Bottle Dating page; see that page for more information.
There are no significant bottle type specific, manufacturing related
diagnostic features or dating trends that have been noted by the author.

Inkwells

As noted at the top of this section on ink bottles, the difference between an "ink bottle" and an "inkwell"
is hard to define since they are both small bottles used as "containers for
ink" from which a quill (or fountain pen)
was directly filled or dipped (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary 2009). So what is the real difference? Although both were
used in a similar fashion - to directly fill a quill or pen - according to Munsey (1970) an "...inkwell
was a permanent and decorative container that was a relatively expensive
item", i.e., a
specialty bottle. An ink bottle was of a more disposable
utilitarian nature and often - but certainly not always - discarded after
use of the commercially produced contents contained in the bottle
(Nelson & Hurley 1967). Put another way, inkwells were more
decorative, typically purchased empty (like many liquor decanters), intended to be retained permanently
until broken or of no use, and were
filled over and over again from bulk sources. Ink bottles were sold commercially filled with ink and
frequently tossed after use although the frugality of the
times often dictated that ink bottles were frequently refilled (from a
bulk/master ink container) and used over and over again like an inkwell
(Munsey 1970; Covill 1971). In the end, the line is blurred between
the two; both are covered as separate bottle "types" on this page.

The first inkstand (an inkwell was part of an
inkstand which also included writing instruments and a sand shaker for
drying) was patented in the U. S. in 1811 by A. H. Quincy of Boston,
Massachusetts (Faulkner 2009). Inkwells began fading in
popularity by the early twentieth century due to the rise of fountain
pens - which were filled directly from the bottle - and later,
ballpoint pens which dominated by the mid-20th century (Faulkner 2009;
Wikipedia). Inkwells
were produced in a dizzying array of designs and materials including
wood, precious metals, pewter and other more common metals, ceramics,
a myriad of minerals, and many other substances...and, of course,
glass. Even with "just" glass as the forming material the
variety of shapes, colors, and types is staggering. For those
interested in the subject, both Covill's (1971) and the Faulkner's
(2009) books provide a bit more glimpse into more variety than can (or
should) be addressed on this site as inkwells are really a
specialty bottle type and outside this websites goals. However, a
few examples of commonly encountered inkwells will be addressed -
examples that are more "bottle-like" (and more closely follow the
dating rules outlined on this website) than not.

The early American center hole inkwell pictured to the above
left (top/side view) and right (base) is a pattern molded inkwell of
the style referred to as a "Pitkin" style inkwell. (A
straight-on side view of the bottle is available by clicking
HERE.) These pattern molded inkwells are attributed to the
Pitkin Glassworks in Manchester, CT. who likely produced this
example sometime between 1783 (when founded) and 1830 when the
glasshouse closed down for a variety of reasons (Buckley 1985;
McKearin & Wilson 1978). Pattern molding was a process of
forming a basic design pattern (typically ribs) on an expanding gob of
glass via a
dip mold with an engraved design. Click
pattern molding to read more about this process on the Bottle
Body Characteristics & Mold Seams page. The image to the
above right is a close-up view of the base of this inkwell showing the
blowpipe pontil scar on the base of this inkwell. It also shows
the ribbing pattern continuation from the body to the base typical of
a pattern molded bottle. It should be noted that some "Pitkin"
style inkwells were also made by other regional glasshouses like those
in Keene, NH., Coventry, CT., and likely some in Pennsylvania and Ohio
(Covill 1971).

The inkwell pictured to the
left was
produced by the Coventry Glass Works (CT.) during the 1820s to
1830s period (McKearin & McKearin 1941). This ink was blown
in a three-piece leaf mold, has a blow-pipe pontil scar on the base, is 1.4" tall and 2.25"cm in diameter,
and has a flattened "disk" type finish (like the Pitkin
inkwell above) surrounding the central bore
that was formed with simple glassmaker tools. Click
base view to view the base which shows the pontil scar encircling
a small indentation in the base center. The linked image also
shows the extensive wear present on the high point edge of the base; a
function of these inkwells being used for decades as well as sitting
on a shelf for another century or more as these items were rarely
discarded unless broken. This and similar
inkwells have a body design referred to as a "geometric" pattern
which was a molded take-off or loose imitation of English or Irish cut glassware of the period
(McKearin & Wilson 1978). This "bottle-like" category of
inkwells were produced by several New England glasshouses including
the noted Coventry, CT. as well as Keene, NH., Mt. Vernon, NY and at
the Boston and Sandwich Works in Massachusetts (Faulkner 2009).
For more information on these type early American inkwells consult the
following references (in order of importance) - McKearin & Wilson
(1978), McKearin & McKearin (1941), Covill (1971), and Faulkner
(2009).

The
very small (1.1" tall and 1.5" in diameter) early aqua
cylindrical ink bottle or inkwell pictured to the right dates from the 1830s or 1840s based on the
context of where it was uncovered in the French Quarter of New Orleans, LA.
(Note: This bottle is covered here due to the morphological similarity
to the geometric inkwells discussed above.) In any event, this ink bottle was likely produced without the aid of a mold
(i.e.,
free-blown) and has a glass-tipped pontil scar on the base.
(Click on
base view to see the noted pontil scar.) It has a cheap utilitarian look to it compared to the
geometric inkwell shown above though has the same basic configuration.
It could well have been (and probably was) sold corked and containing ink; whether it was reused as an inkwell can't be
determined. It does appear to have some dark ink residue forming
a rough ring around the insides, although this could also be related
to its residence in the earth for over 150 years. Unlike most
inkwells that were sold empty and were much more ornate, this
particular bottle is of a
utilitariannature and does conform to the dating
guidelines found on this website, i.e., it is free-blown and has a
glass-tipped pontil scar indicating a manufacture most likely in the
1850s or before.

The
cobalt blue inkwell pictured to the left is what is known as a
"tea kettle," "turtle," or "fountain" inkwell. It dates from the
mid to late 19th century.
(Photo courtesy of Glass Works Auctions.) These type
inkwells usually had burst-off (or cracked-off) finishes which were variably ground down.
The finish was usually covered by a hinged, typically brass, ring and cap (cap missing
on the illustrated example) that sealed the bottle when not being used to inhibit
evaporation. Teakettle inks come in a wide
variety of colors, glass types, and other materials (e.g.
pottery or other ceramics) but
all share the conformation similarities of a relatively large, domed
body (though varying widely in design including Benjamin Franklins
head!) for the ink storage and a diagonally upswept neck (the
"teakettles" spout) terminating with a capped or corked opening
for accessing the ink. The style seems to have been first made
during the first quarter of the 19th century (Covill 1971; Faulkner
2009) but was most popular from the mid-1800s until around 1900 or so
since pontiled examples are unusual (empirical observations).

The
tea kettle inkwell or ink bottle pictured to the right is another
ink that crosses the line between being an inkwell or simple ink
bottle. Like the aqua center hole ink bottle above this bottle
also has a cheaper, utilitarian look to it compared to the cobalt
blue teak kettle ink bottle above, which certainly was intended for
indefinite use. Of course, this bottle could have been reused
after the initial purchase with ink. It has a tooled straight
finish which accepted a cork closure, an eleven sided body, and has
no evidence of mold air venting. It was (apparently) blown in
a true, though asymmetrical, two-piece mold where one portion of the
mold formed the base, heel and underside of the neck with the other
portion forming the entire body and upper portion of the neck.

The
base is embossed with PAT JULY 13TH
/ 1880; click
base view to view such showing the embossing. Below the
patent date is a marking which appears to be three interlinking
circles with some faint letters in each circle which is either an
unknown bottle makers marking or is related to the company that used
the bottle. To view the actual design patent click:
Design Patent #11,868. The patent notes that this was
called a "Fountain-Bottle" and specifically patented for the spout
angle and bulge at the base of the spout, the pen rests on the top
of the body, and feet bumps on the base (see base image) - or all
those features in combination. The patent was granted to one
Michael H. Haggerty of New York, NY. A search of the few
references on ink bottles listed the bottle but nothing about what
company used the bottle, what the noted marking on the base may
mean, nor anything about Mr. Haggerty. Covill (1971) did note
a variant of this bottle that has PAT. APPD. FOR on the
base indicating manufacture between April 9, 1880, when the patent
application was filed, and July 13, 1880 when the patent was
granted! Since
these
bottles are fairly scarce in the authors experience, they were
probably only made for a few years in the early to mid-1880s.

Dating summary/notes: As a
specialty bottle type, inkwells usually follow poorly the dating rules
based on manufacturing related diagnostic features. The
illustrated bottles, however, were picked specifically because they are
types that do follow the dating rules well. The small, more
utilitarian looking aqua, center hole ink bottle/inkwell above should really be considered an ink bottle
even though it shares many morphological features with the Pitkin and
geometric style inkwells. Pontil scarred ink
bottles generally were made during or before the Civil
War, whereas pontiled inkwells being more
of a
specialty bottle, were occasionally made later in the 19th century (empirical observations). Since
inkwells were not made much after the advent of bottle making machines,
machine-made inkwells are unusual but may be encountered now and then.

As portrayed by the image of an early 19th century
pewter inkwell to the left, a lot of late 18th to early 20th century
inkwells were not bottles or even made of glass. As noted earlier,
inkwells were produced in a dizzying array of designs and materials
including wood, precious metals, pewter and other more common metals,
ceramics, a myriad of minerals, and many other substances. However,
that can be the subject of another website...

For more information on the
fascinating world of glass ink bottles and inkwells, see the two primary
published references used for this section - William Covill's "Ink
Bottles and Inkwells" (1971) and Ed and Lucy Faulkner's "Inks - 150
Years of Bottles and Companies." In addition, a couple ink
related websites listed on the
Historic Bottle Related Links page are available to help in the dating
and identification of this large category of bottles.

"Mucilage" is a type of adhesive
typically made from plant products such as seeds (commonly flaxseed), bark,
and roots (Covill 1971; Wikipedia 2012). "Glue" historically was made from animal
substances, e.g., skin, bones, and/or cartilage from both terrestrial
and aquatic animals. Horses hooves were reportedly a well know component of
glue in the past (at least according to my parents while growing up!).
According to online dictionaries, today the term glue seems to be general
term used for adhesives including mucilage. In any event, the terms
"glue" and "mucilage" are the most commonly seen either embossed or labeled
on historic bottles within the time frame covered by this website (Covill
1971; Faulkner 2009). What the contained products were specifically
made from is somewhat irrelevant to this discussion of historic mucilage and
glue bottles. Suffice to say that the products were both organic in
origin versus the widely used synthetic adhesives today.

Mucilage was often packaged in bottles that were the same as those used for
ink - in particular, the
cone ink style - at least in part, because both products were often made
by the same companies (Faulkner 2009). An example of this is the
"classic" cone ink bottle labeled for mucilage found at this link: cone
"ink" labeled for mucilage. The linked bottle likely dates from
the 1880s or 1890s. No history is known on the Henry Hoffman Co.
although it was in business producing ink and mucilage for a long time - mid
to late 19th century - based on the manufacturing characteristics of the
companies various bottles (Faulkner 2009). Located at the following
link is another late 19th century cone ink style bottle clearly labeled as
mucilage:
another cone "ink" labeled for mucilage. (No history was found for
that particular bottle either.) The best that one can say in regards
to the past use of now non-labeled cone style ink bottles (like those found
on historic sites) is that they were primarily used for ink (and often are
found with ink residue inside) with a significant use also for mucilage (and
a substance that would likely dissolve more readily than ink). Another
typical ink bottle style often used for mucilage were the
cylindrical, vertical body ink bottles covered earlier on this page
(Covill 1971).

There
was, however, at least one distinct bottle style that was closely identified with
just
mucilage/glue which was used for a very long period of time (empirical observations). It is represented by
the bottles illustrated above and below left. As one can see from the
images, these bottles are a bit like the cone ink style, with the horizontal
ridge on the shoulder, conical body and short neck, but also a bit like an
umbrella ink with the multi-paneled body sides. Typically, this
mucilage style has a taller body and overall height either the typical cone
or umbrella inks and a much more pronounced ridge or bulge at the shoulder
than the cone ink. (Compare images of both on this page to see the
difference.) This style also has a bit wider bore or mouth to
facilitate the use of the less liquid product than ink, often with some
applicator (see 1865 patent below). The body below the pronounced
shoulder ridge/bulge is very often 8-paneled like both the illustrated
examples (sometimes these have 12-panels), but is often seen with no panels, i.e., a
cylindrical body. (Click on
Illinois Glass Co. 1906 catalog page 54 to see a "bell mucilage"
bottle that has a cylindrical body.) The Whitall, Tatum & Co.'s
1880 bottle catalog shows illustrations of 8-paneled ("cone style") and
12-paneled ("N.Y. Style") 3 oz. mucilage bottles for sale at $6.00 per gross
(Whitall, Tatum & Co. 1880).

The patent available at the
following link -
mucilage applicator patent from 1865 - includes a line drawing of a
typical mid-19th century mucilage bottle of this style. Although the
patent is not for the bottle itself - by that time a traditional
style bottle that was not likely even patentable - it clearly shows a
multi-paneled bottle with a distinctly humped shoulder similar to the ones
illustrated. This easily identifiable style was used from at least the
early to mid-1850s (based on pontil scarred examples being observed
occasionally but not commonly) until the end of the mouth-blown bottle era
in the mid to late 1910s.

The
classically shaped, conical multi-sided mucilage bottle in the upper left corner of this section (base view above
right) is a
relatively early example dating from just before or during the
American Civil War based on manufacturing based diagnostic characteristics
(i.e., mid-1850s to the mid-1860s). It has a
rolled or folded finish, was blown in a post-base mold, and has a
combination style pontil scar exhibiting obvious iron residue. The base
view shows the somewhat unusual combination pontil scar on the base of this bottle.
The label notes it is from New York though no company is listed; click
close-up of the label to see such.

The bottle pictured to the left is very similar
morphologically to the one above, but is body embossed on three sides with
STICK - WELL - & CO. This mucilage was actually made by the S. S.
Stafford Ink Co. of New York, NY. Samuel Stafford began making ink
in 1858 but not under his own name until 1869, giving a "begin" date for
these bottles of that year (Faulkner 2009). These bottles date from
the late 1860s into the early 20th century (all seen by this author were
mouth-blown) although the company lasted until at least the middle of the
20th century (Faulkner 2009). Click on the following links for more
images of this bottle:
base view showing what is likely a cup-base mold conformation;
close-up of the cracked-off and lightly tooled "straight finish" which
was the most commonly used finish on this common style of mucilage bottle.

Another frequently encountered glue bottle style - although much less
commonly than the type discussed above - is pictured below
right. This
style has been called an "igloo and spout" style by collectors (Nelson
& Hurley 1967) and was also used for ink (Covill
1971). That author covered the style in his chapter entitled "Fountain
Inkwells (Misc.)" illustrating this and similar versions made by
various manufacturers (Covill 1971:307-314).
The
most commonly encountered examples are like the illustrated bottle.
It is embossed around the heel with MORGAN'S PATENT
JULY 16TH 1867. This patent was issued to Elisha Morgan of
Springfield, Massachusetts on that date for an "Improved
Mucilage-Stand." That patent can be viewed by clicking on the patent number which
follows:
Patent #66,868. Morgan was later granted another
patent (June 18th 1872) for an "Improvement in Inkstands" - a
closure that fit this style bottle which was now being called an
inkstand. This patent can be viewed at the following link:
Patent #128,163.
This later patent illustration shows what appears to be a bottle very
similar to the 1867 bottle with the "improved" cover which is much
different than the handled cap and brush closure shown in the 1867
patent. The 1872 patent was apparently bottles of this style
used for ink instead of mucilage.

In any event, these interestingly shaped bottles were blown in a
cup-base mold, have a ground rim finish, and apparently were only made
in colorless glass. Click on the following links to view more images of this
bottle:
base view showing the shape of the bottle and the patent date;
finish view showing a close-up of the ground rim. An
interesting fact about this bottle is there was one mold for the style
made with most of the embossing reversed! That is, the mold
engraving was made so the engraver could read it in the mold correctly
which, of course, resulted in the embossing being reversed on the
blown bottle itself (Faulkner 2009). This style of ink bottle
was made by various manufacturers from at least the late 1860s until
the early 1900s (1910s at least). The author has not observed
machine-made versions although they certainly could exist.

Pictured
to the left is an early, embossed glue bottle of a simple style
commonly encountered with glue bottles - small, cylindrical, and with
a wide bore or mouth (Covill 1971; empirical observations). This
early example is embossed vertically with
SPAULDING'S (front) -
GLUE (reverse). Although a commonly encountered mid to late
19th century bottle, this author couldn't find any history on these
bottles. A quick search of the internet shows some 19th century
newspaper ads for it though nothing on the company that produced the
product. This bottle is approximately 3.3" tall, was blown
in a true two-piece mold (the mold seam equally dissects the base),
has a blowpipe pontil scar, a rolled or folded finish, and exhibits no
evidence of mold air venting. All that is commensurate with the
age of the bottle which was manufactured in the 1850s based on the
context it was found. Several authors have noted that these
bottles are commonly found on Civil War camp sites and are usually
pontiled, i.e., pontil scarred through most or all the first half of
the 1860s (Russell 1998; Faulkner 2009). The author has also
observed later mouth-blown versions that are not pontiled, have tooled
finishes, and blown in cup-base molds (empirical observations).
Click on the following links to see more images of this bottle:
base view showing the circular blowpipe style pontil scar;
close-up of the neck and finish showing the rolled or folded style
of finish - a finish rarely found on post ~1870 bottles.

Glue was also packaged and sold in other bottle
shapes and sizes from the mid-19th century through the end of the
period covered by this website in the mid-20th century.
Future additions to the site may add additional mucilage and glue
bottles examples...

Dating summary/notes: Generally
speaking, the dating of these type bottles based on manufacturing related
diagnostic features follows most of the guidelines presented throughout
this website and summarized on the
Bottle Dating page; see that page for more information. A
few mucilage bottle specific manufacturing related diagnostic features and
dating trends have been noted by the author and are discussed as follows;
trends which are also common with the similar smaller (non-bulk) ink
bottles:

Standard mucilage bottles (like the 8-sided conical ones noted above)
- which were a relatively small bottle - were one of the earlier bottle types to have tooled
finishes in relatively common usage - a consistent featured noted
for some other types of shorter/smaller (<7" tall) bottles. Similar to druggist and some
small medicine bottles, mucilage bottle finishing appears to have been
dominated by the
tooled finishing method
by the mid-ish 1870s. The transition
from applied to tooled finishes is covered in more depth in a
section of the
Bottle Finishing main page.

The standard finish on the common conical (multi-sided body or
cylindrical) mucilage bottles was the
straight finish or the very similar, but earlier,
rolled or folded finish. This held from origin of the style in the
1850s (possibly late 1840s) to the functional end of the mouth-blown era
in the mid to late 1910s. Earlier examples (pre-1870 or so) had a
cracked-off (refired smooth or not) or rolled/folded finish; after that time
(1870s and later) the finish was typically a tooled straight finish.
Once these bottles were beginning to be machine-made (mid to late 1910s)
the finishes were typically different, i.e., external screw threads or
some type of snap cap facilitating finish, although cork finishes survived
for some time - possibly through the 1920s or so.

Mucilage bottles are along with ink bottles
some of the earliest
bottles to be blown with some regularity in cup-base molds.
Cup mold bases are commonly seen on mucilage/ink bottles from the 1860s onwards (Covill 1971;
Faulkner 2009; empirical observations).

Small mouth-blown mucilage/ink bottles sometimes lack
evidence of mold air venting marks on bottles that date from the period when
a majority of larger mouth-blown would have exhibited this feature, i.e., the late
1880s through the 1910s (empirical observations). Why?
Possibly because little air needed displaced during the blowing
process from the quite small bottle molds used for these bottles and thus little need for air venting?

Blacking is "a substance
(as a paste or polish) that is applied to an object to make it black"
(www.merriam-webster.com 2009).
Blacking was sometimes referred to as "lampblack" which is the fine soot
collected from incompletely burned carbonaceous materials. It was used as a pigment
and in matches, explosives, lubricants, and fertilizers as well as a
component of various treatments for leather products
(www.thefreedictionary.com 2009). The blacking of leather goes back to
antiquity, though the earliest reference of use for shoes is from the early
18th century when it was typically made at home. The first references
to it as a commercial product available as a "fine liquid shoe blacking" in
the American colonies was in 1764 with the first known use of the name
"blacking bottle" in an 1813 advertisement from a Philadelphia glass works
although bottles were certainly used for the product prior to that (McKearin
& Wilson 1978). Shoe polish was typically black for much of the
period covered by this website so the terms are considered historically
analogous. The following is a description of blacking from
1859:

Blacking consists essentially of two principle
constituents: a black coloring matter and substances that will produce a
gloss or shine. Each maker has his own proportions and methods of
mixing but the materials used are similar in most cases. Day &
Martin, a blacking maker, used Bone-black, Sugar, Molasses, Sperm Oil,
Sulphuric Acid, and strong Vinegar." (from Faulkner 2009)

Although blacking and shoe polish bottles can be square
(below right), cylindrical (cylindrical
utility bottle), rectangular (to the left), or more uncommonly oval (1830s
oval example) or even octagonal in cross-section they tend to all share at least
a couple similarities. First and foremost is a moderately wide bore or
mouth - usually about 1" in diameter give or take 1/8" to 1/4". Such
was necessary for the use of an application swab or sponge which was usually
mounted on the end of a wire or wooden stick. (Click
1883 patent for a shoe polish bottle and applicator to see a copy of a
patent for a bottle described later but which shows the typical type
applicator used for shoe polish/blacking.) Documented use of such
applicators began at least as early as 1829 (McKearin & Wilson 1978).
The second commonality is that the capacity of the bottles were dominated by
those holding about 4 to 6 ounces, although "bulk" bottles or jars
as well as ones a bit smaller than 4 ozs. were also
used, and many products came in bottles of that size (McKearin
& Wilson 1978). However, consideration of that size along with a
moderately wide bore can lead one to conclude that such a bottle could have
been used for shoe polish/blacking unless strongly identified by other
features or embossing as something else (empirical observations).

Some
of the earliest American-made blacking/shoe polish bottles are like those
pictured to the right. (Image compliments of
Glass Works
Auctions.) These bottles are square, produced in a true two-piece
"hinge" mold (note mold seam symmetrically dissecting the bases), have
blowpipe style pontil scars, cracked-off finishes (sometimes fire polished,
sometimes not and left sharp), and were blown long before mold air venting
was used. This ubiquitous style ranged at the time from about 4.5" to
nearly 6"tall with sides about 1.5" to 1.6" wide. They were typically
made in various shades of olive green to olive amber glass like shown though
aqua, pure green and amber examples are also encountered. Of interest,
is that these type bottles in the 1820s and 1830s were sold by the New
England Glass Bottle Co. for 3 cents each, one cent more than tin
canisters made for the same use and at a cost 10 times that of the
contents and applicator (McKearin & Wilson 1978)! (The
reason why early bottles were usually reused many times.) The pictured
bottles date from the 1820s to maybe early 1850s range and were of a type blown at most
New England and other Eastern Seaboard glass factories of the time.
(Note: These early American bottles were also used for snuff and likely
other products also.)

This square, short neck style was made in the U. S.
from at least as early as the 1810s until well into the 20th century.
Of course the specifics of manufacture as well as the closures and finishes
used varied over that time, e.g., corks and cracked off finishes in the
early 19th century to screw caps and external threaded finishes in the 1920s
and after. A very common example of a late 19th to early 20th century,
mouth-blown example is available at this link:
Frank Millers Dressing. This aqua example from the 1890s to 1910s
period shares the same general proportions and dimensions as the much early
blacking/shoe polish bottles pictured to the above left, but has a tooled
"patent" finish and was blown in an air vented, cup-base mold.

The shoe polish bottle pictured at the beginning of
this section (and to the left) are some of the most commonly encountered
types from the late 19th well into the 20th century. The first one
above is embossed vertically inside an
indented panel with
WHITTEMORE / BOSTON / U. S. A. This particular type came in at
least two sizes,
this being the typical larger size which is 5.5" tall. It also
has a rounded, one
part "bead" type finish, an indented base and was mouth-blown in an air vented
cup-base mold. For more images of this bottle click on the following
links:
base view;
side view;
close-up of the upper body, neck and bead style finish. These
mouth-blown bottles were produced in colorless, aqua, shades of green and amber
glass; there were also lots of different size, shape, and embossing
variations. Later machine-made variations (probably no earlier than
the 1930s) had screw cap finishes. The cork (or possibly later -
rubber) had the applicator swab wire embedded in the base.

The images to the left are of a mid/late 1910s or (more
likely) 1920s to early 1930s, machine-made example with the original label
and dried up contents. One side is embossed with 5 FLUID OZ.
(horizontally) at the top of the embossed side and WHITTEMORE /
BOSTON / U. S. A. (vertically) below; the other side has the original
label as shown (click to enlarge images). This bottle is 5.4" tall,
machine-made of colorless glass on an Owens Automatic Bottle Machine as
evidenced by some of the
suction scar showing on the lower body of the embossed side - a common
feature with earlier (pre-1940) bottles made on that famous machine.
In the experience of the author, machine-made bottles like this lack the
indented panel on the embossing side that is typical of the earlier (pre-mid
1910s) mouth-blown examples, though some mouth-blown examples lack the
indentation also (empirical observations).

The
Whittemore's Polish bottle to the right (two views) is a cylindrical,
late mouth-blown example that dates from the 1905 to 1915 era. It is
embossed with WHITTEMORE'S on the front and POLISH on the
back. It is about 3.6" tall and just over 2" in diameter, has a tooled bead finish,
a mouth or bore of about 1", and was blown in a cup-base mold. The amethyst color is the result of
the use of magnesium dioxide as a decolorizer; the original color was
colorless but has since turned deep amethyst due to either exposure to ample
sunlight or irradiated artificially. These would have been stoppered
similarly to the rectangular types discussed above.

By the mid-1910s, especially as machines began to
dominate production, the cylindrical style began to dominate the glass
bottle shoe polish market although rectangular and square bottles continued
to also be used until the mid-20th century (Illinois Glass Co. 1906, 1911,
1920, 1926; Kearns-Gorsuch Bottle Co. 1916; Owens-Illinois Glass Co. 1930).
For some examples of early machine-made "shoe dressing" bottles from period
bottle makers catalogs click on the following links:
Illinois Glass Co. 1906 - page 282;
Kearns-Gorsuch Bottle Co. 1916 - page 132;
Illinois Glass Co. 1926 - page 144,
145 and
146.

In
addition to the bottle types above, the very distinctively shaped example
pictured to the left is also one of the commonest shoe polish or blacking
bottles found on historic sites in the U. S. dating from the 1880s
into at least the first couple decades of the 20th century - the Bixby patent style bottle. This particular
bottle is just over 4" tall and 2.3" in diameter with a mouth/bore a bit
over 1". Click
close-up of the upper body, neck and finish to see such. The body
is embossed with PATENTED / MCH. 6. 83. (Apparently, Bixby was
frugal and the mold engraving charged by the letter even though there was
plenty of room to spell out MARCH and the full year.) These bottles
are also usually (always?) embossed on the base with BIXBY
with the X being much larger than the other letters. Click on the
image to the right to see that embossing more clearly; also click
another base view to see an amber example showing the embossing more
clearly. They came in a variety of glass colors, although far and away
the most commonly seen is aqua like the pictured example (empirical
observations).

As the embossing indicates, this distinctive bottle
style was patented on March 6, 1883 although the patent was applied for in
1880 so examples could date back to that time at least. Click
Samuel M. Bixby's March 6, 1883 patent #273,444 to see the original
patent for the bottle shape - particularly the bulging shoulder - and the
polish applicator (primarily the handle at the top). It noted that the
patent was for "...certain new and useful Improvements in Bottles for
Containing Liquid Blacking..." Although the bottles are somewhat
variable, it appears that the earlier bottles are like the taller more
slender example above. Later mouth-blown ones had a body that was
squattier, square with rounded corners and the patent date in one line just
below the shoulder bulge. Click
squat example to view an image of an early 20th century example; click
base view to view the base embossing of this squared example.

S. M. Bixby was also a producer of inks, bluing, stove
polish, mucilage and harness oil in addition to blacking/shoe polish.
The company apparently began in the 1860s and continued for many years,
using a variety of different bottles for the other products, until Bixby's
death in 1923 when the company was sold to a competitor (Faulkner 2009)
although the product name continued and was connected with the famous
Shinola shoe polish. (For more information on the company view
this website:
http://www.glassbottlemarks.com/s-m-bixby-company-bottles/ ) Click
machine-made Bixby bottle to see a 3 oz. capacity cylindrical example
that likely dates from the 1910s or 1920s and is typical of that eras shoe
polish bottles. Click
1919 Bixby advertisement to see such showing the same bottle shape.

Shoe polish/blacking was also packaged and sold in other bottle
shapes and sizes during the
period covered by this website, i.e., entire 19th to mid-20th century.
Future additions to the site may add additional blacking/shoe
polish
bottle examples...

Dating summary/notes: The dating of these type bottles based on manufacturing
related diagnostic features very closely follow the guidelines
presented throughout this website and summarized on the
Bottle Dating page; see that page for more information.
There are no significant bottle type specific, manufacturing related
diagnostic features or dating trends that have been noted by the author.

Perfume,
cologne bottles, and toilet water bottles* as a group come in a
variety of shapes and sizes that is staggering in number.
(*Here they will often be referred to as simply "scent bottles.") The
author has no idea of the total variety - including all the subtle
variations of major styles just made in the U. S. - but it has to be
well into the many tens of
thousands. Thus, like many categories of bottle types, this
section will not even scratch the surface of that variety but is
intended to show a few typical or common shapes during the era
covered by this website. One distinctive shape intended
largely for "Florida Water" - a type of toilet water - is covered as
a separate category following this section.

Most scent bottles were small in size, rarely holding more than 6
ounces or so and often only an ounce or two...

The early and fairly often encountered (for such
an early bottle) American cologne bottle pictured to the above
left... This particular bottle was almost
certainly blown at some Boston area glass works, most likely the
Boston & Sandwich Glass Works (McKearin & McKearin 1941;
McKearin & Wilson 1978). Click
base view to see such showing an excellent example of a blowpipe
style pontil scar. Click
reverse view to see... According to McKearin & McKearin
(1941) there were "...probably at least 200 designs, most of
which are so elaborate as to defy adequate verbal description"
of this particular genre of cologne bottle dates from the 1830s to
1850s and possibly a bit later. Kaiser (2009) shows an example
of this particular bottle with the original label for "Eau De
Cologne" overlaid with another identifying it as having been reused
by a South Boston apothecary for "French Brandy." Quite a
strange reuse of this type bottle!

The three similar shaped bottles pictured to the
right are cologne bottle spanning about 60 years of time. This
is a style... These are often found on historic sites across
the range indicated by the noted approximate dates of the bottles.
The following links show an example from the 1880 to 1900 era with
the original labeling indicating that it was a "Concentrated Extract
(of) White Rose":
full view including the label;
close-up of the
shoulder, neck and finish. Van den Bossche (2001)...
Some found on the S.S. Republic (1865)?

The
deep cobalt blue toilet water bottle to the left is classified in
McKearin & McKearin (1941) as GI-7, Type II... These
bottles and an assortment of very similar ones were almost certainly
blown at Boston & Sandwich Glass Works in Boston.
Click
base view to see such... See the above reference, pages
278-282 & 288-289, for more information on these type bottles.
These bottles were also reportedly used for castor oil, camphor,
vinegar (as a "cruet") and possibly other products (McKearin &
McKearin 1941).

By
the time of the American Civil War and on into the early 20th
century, the number and variety of mouth blown scent bottles
exploded with many producers both foreign and domestic. One of
the most popular brands of the last half of the 19th century was
Hoyt's German Cologne; it is pictured to the... Click on
base view to see the cup-mold base conformation. Click
close-up of the shoulder, neck and finish to see such...
This bottle is one of the smallest used by the company (there was
also a smaller "sample" type) and is 3.6" tall, has a tooled
"prescription" finish, blown in a cup-base mold, and exhibits one
air venting mark in the middle of the front shoulder and three on
even spread out on the base. The air venting on the base is
indicative of a bottle made no earlier than the late 1890s and more
likely sometime between 1900 and the mid to late 1910s.

The
small bottle pictured to the left is a interestingly shaped perfume
bottle which although of a distinctive shape, is representative of
the wide variety of shape (and sizes) found in scent bottles.
It is 4" tall, likely only holds 2 ounces or so, crudely tooled
"bead" or possibly "patent" finish (a hybrid of the two really),
blown in a cup-base mold, and lacking any evidence of mold air
venting. This bottle likely dates from the 1870s to possibly
early 1880s... Click
side view to see the horizontally ribbed sides to this narrow
bottle...

For an idea about the variety of perfume bottles from
just one manufacturer in the 1920s, take a look at pages 72 to 91 of
the Illinois Glass Company's
1926 catalog and pages 64 to 73 their
1920 catalog showing a myriad of different designs.

During the era covered by this website many tens of thousands of different
shapes, sizes, designs, etc. of perfume, cologne and related scent bottles
were produced by glass makers in just the U. S. Coverage of even a
small percentage of the plethora of types is
not possible, of course, though the following includes some additional images/information
about other styles/types scent bottles to show
some of that additional variety:

"Classic
Oblong" style drug/chemical bottle - This commonly
encountered bottle on mid-20th century historic sites is
what the maker - the Owen-Illinois Glass Co. -
called in their catalogs a "Classic Oblong" and listed
in those catalogs "Drug & Chemical Containers" sections
(Lucas County Bottle Co. 1940s; Owens-Illinois Glass Co.
1952; 1962). This example is 5.5" tall, holds 4
oz., has an external screw cap finish, and made of
colorless glass that is slightly straw colored
indicating glass decolorization with arsenic and/or
selenium. Click
side view to see such which has several staggered
vertical ribs defining the edge of the side. Click
base view to see such which, although hard to read,
is embossed with DES. PAT. / 94824 along with a mold
number "2" (to left side of base) and the glass makers
marking (the earlier "Saturn" marking) with an
undecipherable plant number, but a likely "38" date code
(to right side of base). The base also shows some
of the suction scar made by the Owens Automatic Bottle
Machine. The best way to understand the somewhat
"Art Deco" design is to view the original
Design Patent #94824 which was issued in 1935 to an
(apparent) employee of the glass company. The
patent date along with the noted catalog information
indicates this bottle was popular from 1935 until at
least the early 1960s, this being an earlier example
indicated by the 1938 date code. (All of the later
examples would also have date codes on the base, if
decipherable.) It is likely that these
bottles were also used for other products like hair
tonic, aftershave, and other toiletries.

SOLON
PALMER PERFUMER / 3 FL. OZ. N.Y. - This is
embossed on the base of the perfume bottle pictured to
the right which has some similarity in design (dense
vertical ribbing) to the early American cobalt blue
bottle discussed above. This 4.5" tall,
machine-made bottle is of unknown manufacture (no makers
marking) but certainly dates from possibly as early as
the late 1920s to possibly as late as the mid-1940s
given the context if was found. Click
base
view to see the noted embossing as well as a "4" in a
circle in the middle of the base of unknown meaning
(i.e., a mold code or such used by the glass
manufacturer). Click
side view to see such.
Click
close-up of the finish
showing the flow
restricting "sprinkler top" type external screw thread
finish minus the metal or plastic screw cap. This
type finish is covered on one of the
Finish Types pages and is commonly seen on many
toiletry type bottles dating from the mid-1920s until
very recently.

...and more hopefully added in the future...

Dating summary/notes: The dating of these type bottles based on manufacturing
related diagnostic features very closely follow the guidelines
presented throughout this website and summarized on the
Bottle Dating page; see that page for more information.

Florida Water

"Florida Water" bottles are one distinct bottle type
within the otherwise huge universe of toiletry bottle styles that is
closely identified with that toiletry product although the same shape
and similar sizes were also used for a distinctly non-toiletry product
- castor oil. (Discussed more later.) The following is an
excerpt from the abstract of the one scholarly article published on
this genre of bottles and summarizes the history of the product and
the bottles succinctly:

Florida water was a perfumed spirit that became
to the 19th-century North Americans what Lavender Water and
eau-de-cologne were to Europeans. Nowadays, perfumed spirits are
known as colognes or toilet waters, and are used mainly as fragrances.
But from the Middle Ages right into the 19th century, perfumed spirits
were thought to possess miraculous healing properties and to prevent
infection. Florida Water is a late arrival to that tradition.
Developed in the United States, Florida Water was already a generic
product by the 1830s. During the last three decades of the 19th
century, many North American druggists and pharmaceutical houses
produced their own Florida waters, and also sold
Murray and Lanman's Florida Water, the most popular of the
brand-name Florida waters. Two standard bottle shapes were used
for Florida Water in the late 19th century. One of these forms is no
longer remembered as a Florida Water bottle; without paper labels,
examples of this shape are not easily identifiable as Florida Water
bottles, and have not yet been studied..."(Sullivan 1994).

The bottle form noted as "...no longer
remembered as a Florida Water bottle..." was, according to
Sullivan (1994) much like the the "round toilet water" bottle pictured
on page 65 of the
Illinois Glass Company's 1906 catalog; click
Illinois Glass Co. 1906 catalog, pages 64-65 to see such
(illustration lower left corner of that page).
Examples of this bottle style clearly identified with embossing or
paper labeling as "Florida Water"
have not been observed by this author
though such certainly exists, at least with paper labels. The other
very ubiquitous style is as pictured in this section. Various
brands using embossed bottles - in particular those used by Murray
& Lanman - are very commonly found on historic sites dating from
the 1850s to 1940s. This tall, slender and very common bottle type is
this sections subject.

For a LOT more information on the
subject of Florida Water bottles, perfumed spirits and related
subjects consult the complete article by Catherine Sullivan,
originally published in Historic Archaeology (journal of the
Society for Historical Archaeology) which is made available on
this website: http://www.sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/sullivanfloridawater1994.pdf
Also of note, is an earlier article in Western Collector Magazine
entitled "Florida Waters" by Dewey Moss (Moss 1968). However,
Sullivan used and referenced that article incorporating its salient
facts and information into her work.

Florida Water bottles are typically very
consistent in proportions in the two most commonly encountered sizes shown
to the right (and again at the bottom of this section). The typical Florida Water bottle is
roughly equal height in body and neck, with the neck/shoulder section
(as defined in the following) being just slightly shorter than the
body section. Specifically, the body from the edge of the heel
to beginning of the shoulder sweep is about equal in height to the
distance from shoulder base to the finish (aka "lip") rim or top. Stated differently the finish, neck and shoulder are
about equal height to the vertical sides of the body. With both
the regular sizes pictured in this section this is about 4.7" for the
vertical body section and 4.5" for the lower shoulder to finish
rim section.
Proportionally for the two noted sizes, the width of the body is roughly
¼th the height of the entire bottle (heel to rim) although some of the smaller
size ones tend to be a tad wider proportionally in the body
(empirical observations). Of course, with mouth-blown bottles
this proportion can vary some due to the variable height of the neck
depending on where the glassblower cracked off the blowpipe and, with
applied finish bottles, how much glass was added to form the finish.

As
noted earlier, the standard Florida Water shape was also used for
castor oil. The following link showing a page from the
Illinois Glass Company's 1906 catalog has the two styles side by
side (upper right corner of left page) -
Illinois Glass Co. 1906 catalog, pages 102-103. The
image at the following link -
cobalt blue castor oil bottle -
is of an example probably made in England for the Scottish company
that bottled their product in it although similar bottles were made
and used in the U. S. Proportionally it is very like the Florida
Water bottles with a few subtle differences. First is that the
body tends to be ever-so-slightly narrower with the castor oil
bottles, or at least with the ones from the British Isles (which are
commonly encountered in the U.S.). Second, the ones used for
castor oil are quite commonly cobalt blue glass - a color that is
rarely seen holding Florida Water where the vast majority of bottles
are aqua or colorless glass (rarely amber). And finally, the
mouth-blown castor oil bottles (again, at least the ones from the
British Isles) tend to come primarily with a two-part "brandy" or
"mineral" style finish whereas the Florida water bottles virtually
always have a one-part "oil" type finish.

The
bottle pictured at the top of this section (again to the far left) is one of the earliest examples of what was at the time becoming by
far the most popular brand of Florida Water in the U. S. and probably the
world - Murray & Lanman's Florida Water - a product that is still
available today. (Image to near left; the label similarity between the
current product
and its 160 year old ancestor is striking!) Certainly part of this
companies success was probably due to the companies extensive use of
advertising in the form of trade cards. Below right is one of
scores of different advertising trade cards the company gave away; one
that shows the bottle embraced by flowers and gazed upon by a
cockatoo. This card probably dates from the 1880s; the back side
gives a litany of uses including simply as a "...floral
perfume for the handkerchief..." but also that it "...relieves
headache, promotes sleep, allays nervousness, is a rare disinfectant
for the sickroom, exhilarates the sprits..." among many other
attributes. Click
trade card reverse to see such.

The early example is
embossed vertically on the side with FLORIDA WATER / MURRAY & LANMAN /
NEW - YORK and actually probably the oldest embossed Florida Water
bottle known as it dates from between 1854 and 1857.
How do we know that? First off, the base has a sharp "blowpipe"
style pontil scar within the post-mold base type, indicating a manufacture no later than the
American Civil War. (Click
base view to see the base of this bottle.) It is the only
Florida Water bottle known to the author that was early enough to be
pontil scarred. Use of the shape by this company as early as the
1850s was speculated on by Sullivan (1994) based on her research
indicating that the label was registered in New York in 1857, but she
was unaware of this example. However, this is where the
manufacturing based
diagnostic feature dating ends and the original label takes over.

David T. Lanman
- in silent partnership with Lindley Murray - was a druggist located at
69 Water Street in New York from 1836 to 1854. He did business as a
"wholesale druggist" at the same address from 1854 to 1857 under the name
D. T. Lanman & Co. - Murray having left the partnership in 1854.
That same year, George Kemp was also listed as doing business at that
address; he apparently being the "Co." in the name at that point.
The partnership of Lanman & Kemp was formed and operated at
that same address from 1858 to 1870 when they moved to another NYC
address. So this bottle can date no earlier than 1854 and no later
than 1857 or early 1858 depending on when that years New York City directory was published (Wilson
& Wilson 1971; Holcombe1979; Sullivan 1994).

The vertically body embossed Murray & Lanman
bottles were quite similar during the 100 year span from the 1850s until at least
the 1950s (Sullivan 1994) although more modern bottles (image above) have the
embossing on the shoulder. Some of the earlier, non-pontil scarred
examples dating up to 1870 are embossed with FLORIDA WATER / MURRAY &
LANMAN / NO 69 WATER ST. / NEW - YORK. From 1870 to the end of
the mouth-blown era for these bottles (mid 1910s?) the bottles were
embossed with FLORIDA WATER /MURRAY & LANMAN / DRUGGISTS / NEW YORK
(Fike 1987). Bottles with that embossing are found in the usual two
sizes (like shown to the right) as well as a small sample size which is
only 3.5" tall and less than 1" in diameter (Moss 1968). Bottles
with the same embossing are also found machine-made first with the usual
cork closure beginning probably in the mid-1910s into at least the 1930s
(possibly later) when the
closure was changed to a external threaded finish with screw cap
(empirical observations).

The
two standard size and shape Florida Water bottles pictured to the left
are from a West Coast competitor to Murray & Lanman, the
product being produced and bottled by the large druggist firm of
Crane & Brigham in San Francisco, CA. The larger bottle is
embossed inside of an indented panel (plate mold?) with CRANE &
BRIGHAM / SAN FRANCISCO and though it doesn't say what it
contained, it certainly was used for Florida Water. It is also
about 9" tall, has a typical applied "oil" finish, a smooth
(non-pontiled) post-molded base which is about 2.25" in diameter, and
lacks any evidence of mold air venting. The smaller size is
embossed within an indented panel with simply C. & B. / S. F.
although it is certainly a bottle also used by Crane & Brigham for
Florida Water. It is 6.25" tall, body that is 1.6" in diameter,
has a tooled "oil" finish but is otherwise similar in manufacture to
the larger bottle including no mold air venting in evidence.
These features would indicate a manufacturing date sometime between
the mid-1860s to maybe as late as the mid-1880s. (Note: See the
main
Bottle Finishes & Closures page for information on the changeover
from applied to tooled finishes, which on average occurred with
smaller bottles quite a few years prior to larger bottles.)

The availability of some company history helps
the dating process in that the partnership was formed in the early 1860s
(sometime between 1861 and 1863) and ended with Crane retiring in the
"early 1880s" (Shimko 1969; Wilson & Wilson 1971; Fike 1987).
Both bottles were certainly products of the San Francisco & Pacific
Glass Works (or possibly that combined company's pre-1876
antecedents - the San Francisco Glass Works or Pacific Glass
Works) as they have the distinct blue aqua color associated with
aqua glass products from those companies (Friedrich 2012; empirical
observations). In addition, the larger example exhibits the
distinct outwardly curved forward leg on the "R" in the embossing.
This is widely acknowledged as an informal "signature" of a yet
unknown mold engraver or machinist for the companies (or
independently) in the Bay Area doing his work between about 1870 and
the mid-1880s (empirical observations). All this information
points towards the most likely manufacturing date range of the 1870s
to possibly the very early 1880s for these bottles.

Dating summary/notes: The dating of these type bottles based on manufacturing
related diagnostic features very closely follow the guidelines
presented throughout this website and summarized on the
Bottle Dating page; see that page for more information. There are no significant bottle type specific, manufacturing related
diagnostic features or dating trends that have been noted by the author.
It should also be noted that there were scores if not hundreds of
different brands that used this style bottle with their own embossing
(Moss 1968; Fike 1987; Sullivan 1994) as well as untold hundreds of brands
that used label only bottles; bottles that would have been this same shape
but without body embossing.

Hair products

This
is another very large grouping of bottles with innumerable shape
variations. It includes hair tonics, hair & whisker dyes,
a wide array of hair restoring or medicinal products (which arguably
could be included on the Medicinal bottles typology page),...
Hair tonics are really just a variation of the broad class of
toiletry bottles discussed briefly above. Closely related to
the hair tonic bottles in regards to function are "barber bottles"
used for variouis hair preparations. Barber bottles are a very
different grouping of re-useable hair product bottles which are
discussed on the "Miscellaneous & Foreign Bottles" typology page at
this link:
Barber Bottles.

The bottle pictured to the above left is...

The
bottle pictured to the right is embossed on one narrow side with
PARKER'S, on one wide side with HAIR/ BALSAM,
and on the other narrow side with NEW YORK. The
remaining side is not embossed and has the label shown in the image.
It is 6.6" tall (this was the large size) and an early machine-made
bottle dating from the... The larger label notes that it "A
toilet preparation of high standard, used for imparting color to
gray or faded hair." In other words, it was apparently a
hair dye or re-colorant on the order of our modern "Grecian Formula"
and similar products. Click
reverse view to see the label on the reverse side - pasted right
over the HAIR / BALSAM embossing - which notes the product
contained as "Floreston Shampoo" which seems to be a
contradiction to the main label on the other side. Both labels
note the product was produced by the Hiscox Chemical Works
of Patchogue, N. Y. so it appears that this bottle was used for the
hair balsam first, then reused by the same company for the shampoo?
In any event, according to Blasi (1974) the product was first sold
in 1876 by David Hiscox of New York eventually becoming the
Hiscox Chemical Works in Patchogue, NY (located on Long
Island). It was marketed until at least 1948 (Fike 1987).
According to the AMA (1921) the product was found to be "...a
solution of lead acetate with suspended salt. The lead salt is
poisonous." Click
close-up of the shoulder, neck and double ring finish to see
such. The horizontal ring mold seam can be seen just below the
base of the finish - a sure sign of a machine-made bottle.
Click
base view to see such including the flattened diamond used
reportedly by the Diamond Glass Company (Royersford, PA.) to mark
its products beginning in 1924 - about the manufacturing date of
this bottle. These bottle can be found in a several sizes,
mouth-blown and machine-made manufacture, and in at least a few
different colors, i.e., aqua, amber, and olive green.

Dating summary/notes: The dating of these type bottles based on manufacturing
related diagnostic features very closely follow the guidelines
presented throughout this website and summarized on the
Bottle Dating page; see that page for more information.
There are no significant bottle type specific, manufacturing related
diagnostic features or dating trends that have been noted by the
author.

Don Fadely has an exceptional website dedicated to bottles
that contained hair related products - both medicinal and cosmetic. This
website was recently updated to contain the information from his out-of-print
book Hair Raising Stories (Fadely 1992) as well as much
more new information. This website includes excellent historical
information on and images of hundreds of "hair" bottles primarily from the
19th century with some overlap into the early 20th century. Don's
website is an excellent
resource for researchers as well as just plain interesting reading for all. It is available at this link:
http://www.hairraisingstories.com

Snuff is the only category on this page that was
intended for more or less internal consumption, i.e., at least internally as
far as the mouth (or nose). McKearin & Wilson also have a section on
this p.259+

The dots on the base of 20th century snuff bottles are
thought to be indicators of the strength of the snuff contained, though it
appears that the marks are instead glass maker marks intended to track
quality control of bottles produced by different machines (Munsey 1971;
Gloria Thomas, Conwood Sales Co. LLC pers. comm. 2007).

Rectangular

Rectangular snuff bottles...

Square

Square snuff bottles...

The proportionally tall square "blacking" (shoe polish)
bottles discussed
earlier on this page were also used frequently for snuff (empirical
observations).

Cylindrical

Cylindrical may be covered under utility bottles
below since a cylindrical snuff may just be a wider mouth utility
bottle...

The
small (4.25" tall, 1.5" in diameter) olive green bottle....
Click on the following links to view more images of this bottle:
base view showing the blowpipe style pontil scar over a true two-piece
mold seam (aka "hinge mold");
close-up of the shoulder, neck and finish showing the very thin and
delicate flared finish which was formed by re-heating and tooling (with some
simple tool like a jack) the glass remaining after blowpipe removal.

The bottle pictured to the right is a very early
American utility bottle that likely was used for snuff (and discussed in
that section above) although

The
large amber bottles pictured here are between approximately 11.5" tall,
produced in turn-molds (so lack any mold seams or embossing), and have
crudely applied patent and/or prescription finishes. Given the
characteristics, they likely date from the last two decades of the 19th
century, although these almost fall into the
specialty bottle category where some of the dating guidelines variably
break down. These are large "utility" type bottles - utility meaning
of a style that was used for a multitude of products - could have been used
for many types of liquid products, e.g., pharmaceuticals, ammonia or other
cleaning products, acids and chemicals of all types as well as liquor, maple
syrup, or anything that could be poured into (and out of) it. As
discussed earlier in this section, these are also examples of the type that
the Illinois Glass Company called a "Druggist's Packing Bottle" in
their early 20th century catalogs (Illinois Glass Co. 1903). They offered
it in 15 sizes ranging from 1/4 pint to 2 gallons - with these being
approximately one gallon in size. Click
IGCo. 1906 pages 94-95 to view their 1906 offerings of these "packing"
bottles.

The bottle pictured to the left is a generic utility
or "packer" bottle that was produced by the Illinois Glass Company in
the 1920s. It has that companies makers mark of the letter "I" within
a flattened diamond on the base (link below). This specific bottle
with the
Kork-N-Seal finish and cap is illustrated in that companies catalogs
from the 1920s and was called a "Round Packer." It was available with
two finishes/closures - the illustrated Kork-N-Seal and the
Goldy which was similar to the crown finish - an in 4 sizes ranging from
2 to 14 ounces (Illinois Glass Co. 1920, 1924). Click on
IGCo. 1920 catalog page 41 to view the page from that catalog showing
this bottle (lower half of the page). The example pictured here is
approximately 5" (13 cm) tall and is the 6 oz. size listed in the catalog. Click on the
following links to view more images of this bottle:
base view showing the "I in a diamond" makers mark for the Illinois
Glass Co.;
close-up of the shoulder, neck and finish/closure. What this
specific bottle held is unknown, though some of the sediment from the
contents is still visible.

Dating summary/notes: Generally
speaking, the dating of these type bottles based on manufacturing
related diagnostic features follows quite well the guidelines
presented throughout this website and summarized on the
Bottle Dating page; see that page for more information.

Cleaning products include ammonia, Clorox®/Purex®
(bleach), furniture polish, bluing... These could also be
considered as "poison" bottles to some extent as most cleaning substances
are such - poisonous.

(Authors note: Although some of the bottles covered
below were certainly used for the noted products, some of the more generic
ones could have been used for other chemicals and pharmaceutical products.
Similar bottles are additionally covered on the
Medicinal/Chemical/Druggist Bottles typology page under the "Poison &
Chemical bottle styles" section.)

Pesticides... These bottles could also be
considered as "poison" bottles as virtually all pesticides are
poisonous to humans. However, the bottle shapes associated with
this category have marked differences from the genre of "poison"
bottles.

For additional images of various labeled
household bottles click the following link to view the pertinent section of the
Labeled Bottles page.

Again it must be stated that the
category of bottles covered on this webpage (Household Bottles [non-food
related]) is extremely large and very diverse.
Like all of the bottle "typing" (typology) pages connected to the main
Bottle Typing/Diagnostic Shapes page, this page just scratched the surface
as to the total diversity of these bottle types. It does, however, cover
the primary styles that were most commonly used and encountered within an
archaeological context. This page has also somewhat
emphasized mouth-blown bottles since that subject is of more familiarity to the
author of this website than later 20th century, machine-made items.
However, though
the automated bottle production era also had incredible variety, it was not as diverse as the
mouth-blown era since shape standardization and simplification was typical of
machine manufacturing. Also, bottle body embossing became much less frequent
on machine-made bottles and a significant amount of
the diversity of the mouth-blown production era was the different proprietary embossing
on essentially the same shapes of bottles.